Tuesday, November 27, 2018
Matthew 25:10 The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet ...
GETTING READY
It is very difficult to get ready for a painful event, but the readiness the Lord calls for is for a joyful event, like a wedding banquet! It is a wonderful event, for the only things to be destroyed are those which sin has spoiled: the devil, the world, our sinful flesh.
The urgency is impressed upon us in Jesus' parable by the fact that when the bridegroom was a long time in coming, they *all* became drowsy and fell asleep. When they woke up, it was too late to get ready. The time to prepare is before we fall asleep.
But how does one prepare? Well, the fact is that the Lord has been preparing us by His Word from the day that He brought us into His kingdom. He has taught us about true success and about where to look in disappointment and failure: to run, not walk, to the foot of the cross there to find forgiveness.
It has long been predicted that computers will depersonalize society. One author, however, found the opposite to be true in his life. He and his brother never talked on the phone, but with e-mail possible, they began exchanging notes from their work-stations. Those communications actually made him want to pick up the phone and speak with his brother. This led to sharing plans and activities, to planning family reunions-- all things which he had no idea of doing when he began exchanging brief notes with his brother.
How does one prepare? James says: "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you" (James 4:8). That is what we are doing every time we exchange messages with Him.
