Preparation

Jesus told a story about ten young women going to a wedding. Weddings in Jesus’ day were not held like today’s weddings.

The bride and groom were betrothed. Which is like getting engaged, but it was more formal and more binding. They were married, but just not living together yet. The groom had to prepare a home for the bride. When it was completed, he could bring her home. Then, family and friends would gather together to celebrate the marriage. So, timing was important.

In the story, the groom was detained. It was late before he came and the celebration began. The guests were waiting. It was dark, so they brought lamp. The lamps used oil to produce light. The oil in the lamps of the young women was consumed. But five of them were prepared. They brought extra oil. The others needed to purchase more oil. So, they were not there when the celebration began, and were not allowed in.

The story is about preparation. People need to be prepared to meet God when he comes. How do you prepare to meet God? Where do you go? What do you do? What do you bring with you? It is not quite like going camping. Do we say a little prayer, receive our ticket to heaven and that’s it?