Are You Truly Prepared? The Difference Between Looking Ready and Being Ready
Have you ever thought about how much time people spend preparing for things that might never happen? Some people dedicate their entire lives to it. I read an article about a woman whose whole identity and happiness was based on whether or not she had an apocalypse to believe in. I discovered while researching that if she didn't have a reason to stock up her cellar or practice karate, she didn't have a reason to live. Ironic, isn't it?
But what about preparing for something that we know with certainty will happen?
The Parable That Challenges Our Preparation
In Matthew 25, Jesus shares a powerful parable about ten bridesmaids waiting for a bridegroom. This story isn't about doomsday preparation but about preparing our souls for eternity.
Jesus begins: "Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom." To understand this story, we need to understand ancient Jewish weddings, which had three stages: engagement (a formal agreement between fathers), betrothal (a binding ceremony with mutual promises), and the marriage ceremony about a year later.
In this parable, the bridesmaids are in that waiting period, anticipating the groom's return. But there's a crucial difference among them: "Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The five who were foolish didn't take enough oil for their lamps. But the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil."
Looking Alike Is Not Being Alike
The first lesson Jesus teaches us is that looking alike and being alike are different. On the surface, all ten bridesmaids appeared similar – all part of the wedding party, all holding torches. But five were prepared, and five weren't.
This parallels what we see today between faithful followers and cultural Christians. Both may:
Go to church
Tell people they'll pray for them
Know the Lord's Prayer
Have Christian music playlists
Thank God before dinner
But when we dive deeper into their souls, we see the differences:
Where faithful followers say the hard and truthful things, a cultural Christian may give into that easy and nice ideology.
Where faithful followers forgive those who sin against them, cultural Christians cancel and condemn those who mess up.
Where faithful followers stand against and repent of sin, cultural Christians celebrate it.
You Are Responsible for Your Oil
The second lesson is that you are responsible for your relationship with Jesus Christ. When the bridegroom arrived at midnight, the unprepared bridesmaids discovered their lamps were going out. They asked to borrow oil, but the others replied, "We don't have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves."
The truth is that just saying you're a Christian is not evidence that you have a relationship with God. Our life reveals our relationship, our habits, our calendars, and our bank account. They reveal what we care about the most.
As Philip Keller writes in "A Shepherd's Look at Psalm 23": "It is a tragic truth that many people who really have never come under his direction or management claim that 'the Lord is my shepherd.' They seem to hope that by merely admitting that he is their shepherd, somehow they will enjoy the benefits of his care and management without paying the price of forfeiting their own fickle and foolish way of life."
Too Late for Preparation
The parable concludes tragically for the unprepared: "But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside calling, 'Lord, Lord, open the door for us.' But he called back, 'Believe me, I don't know you.'"
This echoes Jesus' warning in Matthew 7:21-23: "Not everyone who calls out to me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter."
How to Be Prepared Today
1. Decide Which Life Is Most Important
We can choose temporal life or eternal life. We can't have one foot in the world and have one foot in our faith and expect to grow closer to Jesus. As Jesus says in Luke 9:23-25, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me."
2. Connect With God
You are created by God and you are created for God. Build habits that foster connection:
Read the Bible daily: There is no substitute for a daily habit of reading the Word, for a daily habit of hearing from God.
Practice intentional prayer: When we focus on who we're talking to, it changes prayer for us.
3. Start Today
Tomorrow is not promised. We don't know when Jesus will return. We don't know how long our lives will be. The good news is that Jesus says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).
Life Application: Preparing Your Soul
Spiritual preparation isn't about checking boxes; it's about relationship. When you acknowledge the truth of the Gospel, you acknowledge that something bigger is going on and you recognize that you will one day stand before Him.
When that day comes, I want to stand before someone I've spent my entire life getting to know, that I've talked to every single day, that I felt with me as I walk through the hard times and who's celebrated with me through the joyful times.
It's time to stop going through the religious motions and build a relationship with the One who is truly good and who loved you enough to give His life for you before you were ever born.
Let's prepare not for some doomsday, but for eternity with our Savior.