Will You Make It To The Wedding On Time?
Hungry - Day 15
“Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you." Matthew 25:1-12.
The love of God extends to all. His grace and mercy truly never ends for his children and no matter how many times we fail, he always without hesitation picks us up, cleans us up, restores us in him again, then tells us to go and sin no more.
To this love there is no law. His love never fails and is available to all without reservation.
I have noticed, however, that both in scripture and in life, there seems to be different levels of intimacy that Christ shares with those who call him savior, those who call him King and those whose hearts hunger and thirst for him. This deeper level of intimacy is free to all who seek him and seems to be lavished on those who authentically pursue his heart.
I have found that this deeper level goes beyond love for the Lord. I have known amazing men and women who love the Lord, pray, go to church, and serve him, but they still don't see the physical manifestation of God's miraculous power as a regular, natural part of their lives. I was one of them. I loved the Lord with all my heart. I withheld nothing from him from my earliest days, and even though I had experienced some pretty miraculous things, I didn't realize they were somehow supposed to be a regular part of my life as a believer.
It seems that the Kingdom of God is activated by the desire to live for Jesus with every fiber of our being, settling for nothing less than his holiness in every area of our lives, but there's even more to it than that. Once we understand that the miraculous is supposed to be the normal experience of the believer, we begin to see more miracles.
Those who find the kingdom are those who refuse to turn back. They go with reckless abandonment choosing the risk of losing everything over the risk of missing out on anything. Christ is looking for a radiant bride who will seek him with this kind of abandonment. He desires a bride that will not crumble in the storms but rather walk on the water and command the waves with him. Are you like the wise virgins, positioned to seek and find the Lord or the foolish virgins who are not serious about pursuing the groom? Challenge: Are you like the wise virgins, positioned to seek and find the Lord or the foolish virgins who are not serious about pursuing the groom?
- Deanna
Taken From "Love Personified" by Deanna Rhinehart
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