JUNE 13, Matthew 25:1-13

Jewish weddings in Bible times were held in the evenings. Family and friends of the couple would be invited to celebrate with music, dancing, laughter, eating and drinking. Guests were expected to wear special clothes, and it was considered an insult to turn down an invitation to a wedding. On the wedding day, bride would be dressed splendidly and wear a veil. Together with the girls who had dressed her, she would wait for the bridegroom. He too would be dressed up for the occasion. He would leave his own home with his male friends who would be carrying lighted torches.

On this day, the bridegroom would set out from his home to fetch his bride from her parents’ home. The groom would remove the bride’s veil and lay it on his shoulder. The procession then set out from the bride’s home to the bridegroom’s home. Oil lamps held by the bride’s attendant maidens would light the way.

In the parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins in today’s Bible passage, the foolish virgins ran out of oil early in the evening. When the bridegroom arrived, they were excluded from the festivities because they had not kept themselves ready. We must be like the wise virgins, all prepared to welcome the bridegroom. For the church is the bride of Christ waiting for Jesus Christ’s coming. When Jesus comes again, it will no more be as a baby in a manger. He will return in all glory and power to claim His own!

Thought: I can only be ready to meet Jesus if I read the Bible, pray, and obey God every day.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, may we be ready to welcome the Lord Jesus at His Second Coming. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.