Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins who took their lamps, and went out to meet the bridegroom... at midnight there was a shout, "Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him." Then all the virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the prudent, "Give us some of you oil, for our lamps are going out." But the prudent answered, saying, "No, there will not be enough for us and you too, go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves."

And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast;

and the door was shut.

Matthew 25:1, 6-10, NASB

I don't know about you, but for many years this parable of Jesus seemed mighty harsh. After all, aren't Christians supposed to share? And shouldn't God understand when we have unavoidable issues that are out of our control, and make allowances for us? What is the deal?

Of course, the "deal" is just this: No one can be righteous for anyone else! While we can influence others to become Christians, we cannot make them be righteous, nor can we cannot "give" some of our righteousness to anyone else. Furthermore, when we fail to prepare ourselves for God's service, it is neither out of our control, nor is it God's fault. He is not being harsh, He is warning us: Take care to live in the right way before Him now, because at the Second Coming and the Judgment, it will be too late!

A simple lesson, to be sure, but quite powerful - wouldn't you agree? If you find anything lacking in your life now, when will you begin to take care of it? The prudent will start today... but the foolish will likely procrastinate, and might possibly find themselves shut out forever on that final day.

It is something to consider, isn't it?

Today's reading is from Matthew 25, and it will help us all to gain the perspective that our Father in Heaven wants us to have.