Tuesday - Matthew 25 - Be Ready

 

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T is nothing to claim that God is prepared; that He is ready for the future. Certainly, He is never unprepared, never surprised, never caught off guard; having to scramble around to catch up.  He is God.  God is always set. Matthew 25:34 says that the kingdom has been prepared from the foundation of the world. The full blueprint of Christ's kingdom is literally as old as time. But how about us? Are we ready for the kingdom?

God warns us to be prepared. But we are not divine.  We are not holy, not omniscient, nor omnipotent.  We cannot be ready for anything at any time, as He can be. In fact, He is ready for every exact thing precisely when it happens, but that is not the point. God wants His children to be ready, not for anything, but for one specific thing.  He wants us to be prepared for His kingdom. This chapter address these preparations.

In Matthew 25:1-13 we read the story of 5 wise virgins and their 5 foolish companions. Without retelling the story, it is enough to say that the problem with the 5 foolish virgins was that they were not prepared for the coming of the bridegroom. They represent people who will not be ready for the Lord's arrival. When He arrives, they will be lost.  The same warning is sounded in Matthew 25:14-30 where Jesus tells the story of 3 servants who, in their master's absence, were entrusted with a portion of his goods. And in Matthew 25:31-46 are pure prophecies about how (when He comes) Christ will separate His children from the children of this world.