DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- TWO DIRECTIVES

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – TWO DIRECTIVES

"Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.......For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them."" (Matthew 25:1, 14)

In the middle of His discourse on the end-time prophecy, He seemingly drops in two parables to explain how we should view things.

The first parable was about 10 virgins who were waiting for the coming of the bridegroom, so they could go with him to the marriage. At midnight, the cry went out that the bridegroom was coming, so they all went out to meet him. The problem is that five were prepared with plenty of oil, while the other five were negligent and unprepared. The meaning is obvious: be ready for the coming of the bridegroom.

The second parable is about a man who was going on a journey, and he called his servants and entrusted to them the material goods which they were to invest while he was away. In the parable, some servants were good stewards and increased his wealth, while one servant misused the resources given to him. The obvious meaning is that while our Master is absent, we have been given stewardship of His resources.

Here is where the two parable come together. While we are waiting for the return of the Lord Jesus, we are to be involved in His work. In a similar parable, a nobleman went into a far country, and he called his servants, gave them resources to invest, and told them to do business until he returned (Luke 19:12-13). These parables set the pattern while we wait for His return, He does not tell us to go out on a mountain and sing kum-baya until He comes back. He tells us to do the work of the Kingdom until He returns.

God has a work to accomplish in these centuries between the promise of Jesus to return and when the promise is fulfilled. May we be faithful stewards of the charge He has given us.

Love, Dad