Empty Jars

In Matthew 25:1-13, Jesus tells the parable of the 5 wise and 5 foolish virgins who were waiting for the bridegroom's arrival.  Not knowing just when he would arrive, the wise virgins brought extra oil for their lamps while the foolish ones did not.  When they heard announcing of the groom's arrival, the wise virgins trimmed their lamps and lit them.  The foolish ones asked for soe of their oil.  The wise ones said they could not as that might leave everyone with too little oil.  They told them instead to go buy some oil.  While the foolish ones weree out buying oil, the groom came and all who were present entered into the celebration hall together.  When the foolish virgins got back, the doors were shut and they found themselves locked out.

Sounds harsh, doesn't it.  I mean, they were trying.  They simply made an error in judgment.  Why should they be judged so harshly?  Preparation doesn't necessarily have anything to do with judgment, it has to do with readiness for the momentt.

When the ice and snow comes this winter and you hit a slick spot, you need to already be prepared with adequate tire tread or you are going to find yourself slipping and slidding instead of driving.  If you find yourself in a spin on ice, you need to have already known how to pull out of a spin or you will not recover from the spin - it's too late then to  learn (although you will be taking a crash course in physics).

The apostle Peter said, "Be prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks for the reaason of the hope within you" (1 Pet 3:15).  It is through daily Bible study, prayer and quiet time that we get prepared to provide adequate answers to those who ask us faith questions.  If we are not prepared to answer a question when it is asked, we will have missed that opportunity.  And, the opportunity with that person may be lost forever.

We don't have to be Bible scholars to nagivate matters of faith anymore than we have to be professionally trained drivers to navigate icy roads.  But we do have to preparee in advancee to be ready for that moment when our best driving skills or our best biblical understanding will be called upon if we are to rise to the occasion at that moment.  We need to put the oil in our jars before the moment we need to light them.  Jus' Sayn.