Posted on 04/16/2023 5:54:44 PM PDT by Roman_War_Criminal
There are lots of valid truths that can be pulled from that parable. So my take is just another of the lessons and opinions of that parable that are extant in the Church.
The lesson generally drawn is that the bridesmaids weren’t where they needed to be in a prepared way at the coming of the Groom(Christ).Yet what does one do if one finds oneself lacking is not covered well. Mostly, lessons generally draw much meaning about the oil and the lack of it; though the parable says the foolish maids went and got their oil and were returning only to find themselves locked out. So to me the story’s focus is less about the Spiritual qualities of the oil and the lack there-of and more about the fact that even when they were finally prepared, they weren’t in place at the coming of groom and were thus locked out!
What to do if one finds that time is short and we find we are not prepared or are unworthy? What is it that made the bridesmaids truly foolish? You can try to make yourself ready and hope you do so in time. Or you can go to the Bride and say...”I screwed up, I don’t have enough oil on me to fullfill my obligations to your wedding, what must I do to remain part of the celebration? I know the time is short!
That is what has unlocked the parable of the bridesmaids for me and it grips me strongly! We ask of the Bride who already is aligned with the Groom in spirit! She is the one that has most to do with preparing her home and guests for the coming of the Groom.(as was custom in Jesus’ day) The wedding takes place in her or her family’s home(the custom of the day). Thus does the Church, the Bride of Christ, work to keep us prepared and equipped and eager for the wedding supper of the Lamb!
I often think the same thing about my parents and grandparents generations. As hard as life was for them and for all of the societal changes they lived through, I don't think they had the slightest idea of how quickly our country would fall into degeneracy, totalitarianism, and military/economic impotence. I can hardly believe it myself.
I had this thought that as a way of trolling the calculator freaks; God holds back because some well meaning person in some era or other is always figuring out by calculations when God was going to come back so the Father says...”well maybe a few more years then. I said no one will know the hour!”
So I say stop trying to figure the dates out...and it will get here faster than any of us could ever plan for! LOL!
Bless You!
Deut 22:5
5“A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman’s garment, for all who do so are [c]an abomination to the Lord your God.
A metaphor for an abomination of desolation standing in the holy place (our bodies the temple) where it ought not.
Their minds depraved, suicidal, violent... desolate
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