"At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. "At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!' "Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.' "'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.' "But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. "Later the others also came. 'Lord, Lord,' they said, 'open the door for us!' "But he replied, 'Truly I tell you, I don't know you.' "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. (Matthew 25:1-13 NIV)
We don't know when Jesus, the Savior/Messiah, will return. We should always be ready for the possibility. When He returns, it will be too late to "get ready." The time to get ready is now.
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.' "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' "He will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." (Matthew 25:31-46 NIV)
We need to get ready now because there is more to returning home with The Father than just returning home. Repenting of our time away from home means we stop running away from home. We stop living like we are away from home. Not only that, we start doing the thing that The Father considers important. Our lives should produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
So, for example, when The Father says it is important to use the resources He has entrusted into our care to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, invite strangers, cloth the naked, look after the sick, and visit prisoners, our lives should start reflecting His priorities in these areas. That is how we can know we will be "sheep" in the end, rather than "goats." It's not just about saying a prayer or going down into water. It's about coming home and joining His Team - living a life with His priorities. In this way His Kingdom will come and His Will will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven.
How about you? Have you come home to stay or do you keep trying to leave? Have you joined His Team, or are you still trying to avoid Kingdom work? Does your life produce visible fruit in keeping with repentance? Do you live by His priorities?
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