Matthew 25:1-13
“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
“At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
“Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
“‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
“Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’
“But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
In the Parable of the Ten Virgins, the five foolish ones did not prepare ample oil and missed the bridegroom when they were off to buy more. In contrast, the five wise maidens who had filled their lamps with sufficient oil were able to successfully receive the bridegroom when he arrived. To those who were unprepared, Jesus informed them, “Truly, I do not know you.”
With What Should a Bride Be Prepared?
A bride should be prepared with love for the bridegroom because the bridegroom brings love as fiery as the sun. We need to love Jesus, who is in the position of the bridegroom, like a bride would love a bridegroom. Thus, each of us is in the position of a bride when we strive to attain a counterpart level of spiritual love with Jesus, the bridegroom. He comes to meet the brides with God’s love, the Holy Spirit’s love, and His own love. The bride should also go out to meet him with love that is as fair as the moon. The bride needs to have a body and a heart of love that is clean and clear. The oil in Matthew 25 represents love.
Even though Jesus’ body came after waiting 4000 years of the Old Testament, people failed to receive Jesus because they did not prepare the oil for that time period. They treated Jesus with all kinds of ignorance and arrogance, found fault with him, slandered, and hurled insults at him. Jesus was the counterpart of love to the Almighty God, who is love itself. Jesus is the greatest person physically born on Earth since God’s creation. We must always receive Jesus with love.
A Greater Miracle Than Receiving Jesus?
Receiving Jesus is certainly a miracle! However, there is an even greater miracle than that. And that is living well as his bride. God and Jesus accompany you according to what you do in life. We need to take action absolutely realizing what a great and eternal blessing it is to be able to become the counterpart of love to the Holy Trinity.
We must be prepared to receive Jesus with 100% love and joy as brides. We must not live in ignorance but realize and value God’s Word. Instead of only making our own wishes come true, we must make the wishes of Heaven and Jesus come true. That is true love.
We should be grateful to the almighty and all-knowing Trinity and serve Them with reverence and awe, make loving Them our joy, and live doing the work of God every day. We must take action wisely every day so that we will not regret in the present nor in the future. By doing so, we will be like the five wise virgins who received the bridegroom and live with joy. This is the life of a wise bride.
