Post by Gaz on Aug 18, 2020 14:52:56 GMT 10
This is not a bible study but reinforcement for preparedness. This is one of my favourite scriptures about being prepared, it talks both about spiritual and physical preparedness. There are many scriptures on preparedness and it is good for you to look them up and read them, getting them into your spirit and mind. The more I read and study Gods word the more He humbles me, and teaches me new truths. Praise His Holy Name for He is worthy to be praised.
Gaz
As he often does, Jesus teaches about the importance of being prepared in a parable, in this case in Matthew 25:1-13.
“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. 11 Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ 13 Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
The parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids is like an anxiety dream for followers of Jesus about his return. The parable is a strong reminder of the importance of readiness, of being prepared at all times for the Second Coming of Jesus. In a way, the parable is a lesson about the value of preparedness over planning when it comes to the future.
The wise bridesmaids get to go to the party because they are prepared. They have the needed oil. The others had a plan, “Let’s go buy some oil.” They missed the party.
The biblical approach to the future involves prayer and preparation, more than prediction and planning. This is true whether we are talking about our personal life, the church, or the Second Coming of Jesus. If you go to Bondi Beach when the wind is up, you see surfers catching the waves. People who truly love to surf basically do everything else in life that they have to do, just so they can get back to the water. Surfers don’t plan waves; they prepare to ride them when they roll in.
Throughout the Bible we see God’s desire for people to pray and prepare for the Lord’s intervention. The Bible doesn’t say much positively about people making plans and then offering them to God for a divine blessing. Proverbs 16:9 says, “The human mind plans the way, but the Lord directs the steps.” It’s been said, “If you want to make God laugh, tell God your plans.” Proverbs 19:21 teaches, “The human mind may devise many plans, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established.” This is a crucially important truth for us to understand. What that verse says to me, is that I probably should spend more time seeking to discern the purpose of the Lord for my life than I should be devising plans about what I think God wants me to do. We want to be praying and preparing for God’s intervention & action so we’re ready to ride the wave of what God is doing in the world and in our life.
In Genesis 12 God told Abram to begin a journey and didn’t even tell him where he was going. Abram couldn’t plan the itinerary, all he could do was prepare by telling his family, wrapping up business details, packing his tent and setting out. The Exodus from Egypt is a story of prayer and preparation. God planned the Exodus, no person could. No one would have written the story God did and Moses didn’t get to see the whole plan ahead of time. The Israelites prepared by marking their doors, taking everything they could carry, eating fast food, and waiting for the word to move out. John the Baptist preached saying, “Prepare the way of the Lord.” He didn’t say, “Plan the way of the Lord.”
The biblical truth is this: God does the planning; we do the preparing.
God is the one who says (Jeremiah 29:11-13), “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart.” Notice that God doesn’t say; “Let me know when you come up with plans for your future that you want me to bless.”
Preparing involves calling upon the Lord, coming to God in relationship, praying, seeking the Lord with all our heart. Our faith is not one more item on a “to do” list. Our faith forms our “to be and to do” list. Throughout Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus teaches people about living and growing in relationship with God. Jesus stresses that being spiritually alive means not just knowing religious information, or even saying we believe certain doctrines, but doing what Jesus teaches regarding love for God and neighbour.
Right at the beginning of the parable Jesus tells us that five of the bridesmaids were foolish and five were wise. We can’t tell that just by looking at them. All ten have come for the wedding; all ten have their lamps lit in expectation, all ten, presumably have on their bridesmaids gowns. We’d never guess initially from appearances that half are foolish and half are wise. It’s not the looks, the lamps, or the long dresses that sets the wise apart from the foolish – it’s the readiness. Five of the bridesmaids are ready if the groom is delayed and five are not. The wise have enough oil for the wedding to start whenever the groom arrives; the foolish only have enough for their own timetable. Five are prepared and ready, even for a delay; five are not. Readiness in Matthew’s Gospel is about living the life of the kingdom, living the quality of life described in the Sermon on the Mount. Many can do this briefly or in spurts; but when the kingdom is delayed, when it takes longer for things to happen than we’d like or hope; that’s when problems can arise. Being a peacemaker for a day or two is not as demanding as being a peacemaker when hostility or conflict breaks out between individuals or groups year after year. Praying for those who persecute us and make life difficult and challenging for us – well we can do that once or twice, but praying for them diligently for a long period of time, that’s hard. Being merciful for a day or two is one thing, being merciful to others all the time, when the groom is delayed, requires preparation. Over time, life will test and reveal who among Jesus’ followers is prepared and ready, and who is not.
The bridesmaids who got shut out represent irresponsible disciples who simply weren’t prepared for God’s intervention. Their problem is not that they were sleeping; the wise bridesmaids also sleep. Being watchful means being ready at all times, whether we’re awake or sleeping. When we trust in God we can sleep in peace and not in fear. In Psalm 17:3, 15, “If you try my heart, if you visit me by night, if you test me, you will find no wickedness in me; my mouth does not transgress. I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied, beholding your likeness.” I wonder if verses like that inspired this parable.
The wise bridesmaids were captured by a vision of the importance of the bridegroom’s visit; they will be satisfied to behold him in righteousness. Their values are demonstrated in what they do, they not only bring their lamps; they bring flasks of oil as well. Values are demonstrated by behaviour. Someone said in a way that Matthew would have liked, “What you do is what you believe; everything else is just religious talk.” The wise bridesmaids value the invitation, return, and approval of the bridegroom so much they adjust their behaviour accordingly to be ready. They are women who have pure hearts, who cultivate goodness, who guard their speech. They are righteous women of faith. In the parable, faithful waiting involves being prepared and ready, not planning and prediction. Matthew is making the point that disciples of Jesus are to be concerned with being ready when he returns, not predicting and planning when that might be. This clear teaching of Jesus is frequently ignored.
For Matthew, readiness means living the quality of life described in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) and throughout his gospel. Being ready involves the performance of good works (7:21-27), abstinence from bad behaviour (15:19), love for enemies (5:44), love for other Christians (24:12), the forgiveness of others (18:21-35), unhesitating faith (21:21), loyalty to Jesus (10:32), love for God (22:37). This is God’s plan for our life which when followed leads to the love, joy, peace and hope which so many of us are seeking.
At the beginning of the journey of faith, you can’t really tell the followers of Jesus apart. They all have lamps; they’re all excited about the wedding, they all know how to sing, “Lord, Lord.” The longer the journey of faith, the later at night it gets, the clearer it becomes who is wise and who is foolish, who is prepared and who is coming up with their own plans, who is ready to ride the wave of God’s intervention and action, and who will be left standing on the beach, who will be invited in to the wedding banquet and who will be shocked to discover they have been shut out regardless of their claiming the right confession of faith.
As followers of Jesus, we are, in the language of the parable, to be like wise bridesmaids who are ready at any time to respond to the call of the Lord. How prepared are you?