“The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.” (Matthew 25:10b, NIV)
For four days this week, I want to welcome you into a trip I am enjoying—my first—to play golf outside the United States. I am in Scotland, enjoying the sights with my wife, who is not a golfer, and connecting with Tim Philpot, a friend of Links Players and many of you. Tim has made the Dornoch region his summer home of sorts, so he likes to have stateside friends visit and play one of the world’s great courses with him.
For Californians like Laura and me, this meant a lot of travel time to fly to Edinburgh and make our way up to the Highlands. We were very careful to make sure we were ready before we departed a week ago.
Readiness is a life—and eternal life—skill we should all be employing consistently. Maybe this causes you to think of those disaster preparedness public service announcements that run on TV. The most ironic of these features a family who takes pride in not being prepared at all. A bit of reverse psychology to get our attention and make us laugh, however wryly.
There is an unbearable cost to be paid if we are not ready in faith for the return of our Lord.Biblically speaking, readiness is serious business. Jesus told the parable of ten virgins awaiting a bridegroom (reality TV has nothing over Scripture!). The groom came when the women did not expect him, and just half of them were ready to receive him. Only these were allowed into the wedding banquet.
Jesus’ parable is a picture of our readiness for eternity. Jesus himself is the bridegroom. We are those meant to be waiting and ready for his return to take us into his eternal presence. This is not something where we can say, “Good on you if you do, but you’ll be OK if you don’t.” Notice the end of Jesus’ words in our verse today: “And the door was shut.” There is an unbearable cost to be paid if we are not ready in faith for the return of our Lord—or to meet him if we die before his return.
Day to day, readiness can be the purpose behind all our disciplines. Why do we read the Scriptures or walk and talk with Jesus in prayer? Why do we quietly worship him in intentional silence or while listening to hymns and songs that celebrate him? We do so for three primary reasons: to deepen our relationship with God, to perhaps hear his words for us in our present circumstances, and to prepare our hearts for the day before us, with both its expected and unexpected appointments. In this way, we can practice readiness all the time. The spiritual disciplines help us “pack our bags,” for the short journey of the day and for the longest journey of all—eternity with our Savior.
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Jeff Hopper
August 19, 2019
Copyright 2019 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
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