Devotions: The Separation of Delay

 

Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

Matthew 25:1 New American Standard Bible 1995

 

This was one of the last parables that Jesus told before His death. It is about 10 young women waiting to celebrate the marriage of a friend, but the marriage party delayed and the women fell asleep. They awoke to the sounds of the approaching party only to find their lamps had burned low. Five of them had extra oil and were able to refill so they could find the party. However, the other 5 were not prepared so they had to try to find oil to buy late in the evening. By the time they were ready, the party had passed them by and they were not able to attend the wedding.

This is a metaphor of believers. They all claimed to know the bridegroom (a picture of Christ), but not all were admitted to the wedding feast (a picture of heaven.) The five who were prepared are pictures of true believers, while the five unprepared are those who claimed faith but were not truly saved. At the beginning of the story, the women seemed to be the same. What separated them was the delay. It was in waiting that the 5 ungenuine were shown to be faithless. They did not heed the warnings and were unprepared. Jesus said that many who call on His name will not enter the kingdom of heaven because He doesn’t know them.

Many thought that Christ would return within the lifetime of His disciples, however it has been over 2000 years. That is a long delay. In that time, many claim faith, but the delay causes those who are not genuine to fall asleep and their flames to go out. What once caused them great excitement was shown to really not matter that much to them, not as much as the pleasures of this world. In the parable of the wheat and tares, the farmer told His workers not to pull the weeds until harvest. It was the delay of the growing season that would show which were truly wheat and which were really just weeds. Jesus waits to return so that all who will believe have a chance to come to Him, but I believe that the delay also serves to separate true believers from the pretenders, those who claim His name but their hearts are not changed. In this society where godliness is rapidly going out of style, it is becoming harder to pretend. This is where the rubber meets the road and many who publicly confessed are now falling away.

Do you believe? In waiting for heaven, are you drawing closer to Christ or falling away? Is the flame of your love for Him growing or being snuffed out by the pleasures of the world? Ask God to help you stand strong and stay true. Ask Him to fan the flame so that you are not proved ungenuine.

 

 

 

 

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