There’s one very famous story – it’s a parable about 10 virgins (Matthew 25:1-12). So, we read in the Gospel of Matthew:

“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom” (Matthew 25:1)

God compares the anticipation of the Kingdom and ascending to the Kingdom to 10 virgins. Every virgin had to have her own lamp, and every single one of them had to go out to meet the Bridegroom. Every one of us has to have our own lamp. On one hand, we are – God’s army, the body of the Messiah. On the other hand, each and every one of us constitutes this Body, and each and every one of us is held personally responsible by God. Each and every one of us has our own gifts and talents, our own calling and purpose, our own relationship with the Lord, and our personal responsibility before God and God’s Word. Therefore, every single one of us has to go out with our own lamp.
All of us cannot go out carrying the same lamp. We are mistaken if we think that our pastor should go out on horseback before us carrying the floodlight and we all just follow him on our donkeys. He shows us the way and we’re a herd of dumb sheep, hoofing along, without any clue, seeing nothing – it doesn’t work like that! We really should obey our leaders in ways they obey the Lord, in ways they comply with the Word of God. However, we have to understand that every single one of us bears personal responsibility for our walk before God, for our faith. We cannot be saved through corporate faith, through corporate works.

We won’t be justified by the fact that we only did what we were told to. God gives us strength, wisdom and grace to make choices. Our choice is our personal responsibility. Our leaders, our mentors and our brothers and sisters are here to help us. But they cannot make choices for us. Each of us has to have our own lamp that we take out to meet our bridegroom. We can be one with a cavalcade of those who went out to meet the Bridegroom, however every single one has to go with their own lamp, with their own relationship with the Lord, with their own calling, with their own experience and faith.

Abraham was alone, he had to choose the Lord and follow Him all by himself, no one was around to support him. That’s why he was called the father of faith. We however walk a well-trodden path, and it’s very likely that there always will be someone next to us working to perfect their salvation, making it easier for us. But everyone has to have their personal lamp to light their way and draw the attention of the Bridegroom.

To know about the Lord vs to know the Lord.

“Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom [a]is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12 But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ (Matthew 25:2-12)
Non-believers are not going to call the Bridegroom: “Lord, Lord!” These virgins symbolize the believers who knew that He was the Lord, but they didn’t know their Lord. They knew about the Lord. They even came to the place of meeting with Him, but they didn’t really know their Bridegroom. You can be a part of a communal movement, and that’s a good thing, it’s important to be a part of God’s Body. In order to be a part of this movement, we have to get to know this Lord we claim to believe in.

Wise virgins took extra oil, since they knew Who their Lord was. They knew that He wouldn’t come on their terms. They knew that their Lord had His will, and He did what He pleased. That’s why they prepared themselves to meet Him. Foolish virgins knew about the Lord, but they didn’t know the Lord Himself. They decided that their bridegroom had to come on their terms, to come while they still had oil in their lamps.

But the Lord is not going to simply abide by our expectations. He wants us to wait for Him on His terms. The wise virgins understood that His will was more important than their expectations, and they were prepared to wait as long as it was needed. Sometimes we come to the Lord, expecting Him to do something a certain way. We have to realize that God comes to us the way He wants, and we have to be ready to wait for Him as long as is needed, submitting our will to the will of our Lord.

The Lord comes on time

“But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.” (Matthew 25:5)

Yeshua will come in due season, when the time is right. And we should ready our hearts, creating the atmosphere of waiting for this meeting with the Lord inside our souls. We should stock up with oil so as not to miss Him. We cannot invent the terms of the meeting with our King. We shouldn’t come to the Lord with our demands and rules like those foolish virgins did thinking that since they had gone to meet Him, the Bridegroom must come at once. The Bridegroom came when the time was right and He didn’t try to make excuses. The Bridegroom didn’t feel guilty at all. He accused them, saying that they hadn’t prepared and didn’t know His heart, His character.

Here lies a certain lesson for us: in everything we do in our churches and ministries, we should do our best to unveil the character and the heart of the Lord Himself. Collective intelligence is not going to save us, nor will collective faith. But in this community movement of God every single one of us can discover special things about the Lord, His character and His heart.

We have to stock up on oil that is the symbol of anointing. We have to discover the lamp inside our hearts, seek the gifts and make the light shine brighter from inside of us. There may be moments in our lives when this accumulated oil, this accumulated anointing, this relationship with the Lord will turn out to be instrumental for us. When dry season comes, when problems and oppression come, this stock of relationship with God (God’s oil) will strengthen us to go through trials and meet the Lord. And our Bridegroom will come to us and renew our lamps, our freedom and our victory. Sooner or later, each one of us will find ourselves in the season of waiting. And it’s all about going through this season of waiting and coming out victorious.

Prayer

Dear Lord, bless us so we could be like those wise virgins, who went to meet their Bridegroom and were prepared. Help us to submit our will to you and become capable of seeking you and continue seeking you until you reveal Yourself to us, until you usher us into Your presence. We want to know your character, Lord! We want to know Your heart, Lord! To know Your Word, to know Your Love and be satisfied with You and watered like Your garden. Lord, may this day be the day of getting to know You. Let every one of us at the end of this day say in our hearts: “Today I learned, went deeper, got established in the love of my Lord and His character” God, help us to notice these things in our lives and be grateful to You! In the name of Yeshua. Amen.

Andrey Lugovsky, KJMC Elder