“Jesus is coming, soon”.
How many times have we heard that. Plenty. So many times in fact, it seems to lost its any real meaning or cultural potency. Let me challenge that. I want to transform this from a religious phrase, or ‘conspiracy’, to one that feels real and familiar. Mum said she wanted to visit us over the weekend, but our house was in disarray. Clothes everywhere, toilet dirty, we didn't even have a bed for her. So, we had to BUY the bed. During the day we had to hoover the house, wash the bathroom, get the dining room clean.
We had to prepare.
Even for everyday scenarios, if someone is visiting your home, you act, you prepare, you get ready, you PRIORITISE the things that are key to their arrival - you literally get our house in order.
With my mum visiting, were there other things we could have done instead of prepare? yes, in fact, there were other things that were quite important, but they were not important for mum's arrival so we deprioritised them. Now imagine I said, I want to go shopping in town first and I'll be back before she comes. There are two possible outcomes here: Maybe I do get back on time before she arrives, great, BUT, I will still have less time to prepare and may not be able to get all I need done if I had more time. Or a second outcome: unexpected events occur and I get back and don't have enough time to do anything at all. Both options are risky right? The obvious path is to avoid risk and prepare what's needed for mum’s visit first, then do other things. This is the definition of ‘get your house in order’, and it’s the framework to process what it means to prepare for Jesus’s return.
When Jesus says he is coming soon, we should translate that as ‘Get your house in order’. or ‘Get yourself in order” “what is a priority for Him?”. What you ask? three things; Our heart, our lifestyle, our contribution.
Our Heart - Are you right with God? Have you acknowledged you are imperfect and need saving? Your heart is wicked as is mine and it cannot stand before a holy and righteous God. We need spiritual heart surgery, a heart transplant and that's what Jesus provides.
Our Lifestyle should reflect this new life. Again, not by our own effort alone, but via our heart. The heart dictates our lifestyle. God's heart, if we have it, should dictate ours. Don't put pressure on yourself to think 'I can be how God wants' - you can't. God will guide your lifestyle, if you have His heart and you press into knowing him through the bible.
Lastly, Your Contribution. Our contribution is our witness, our gift, our talent that we use to shine light in the world and create experience and space for others to see light and experience something of God's goodness.
The parable of the ten virgins summarises our core takeaway. In this story, ten bridesmaids are waiting for the bridegroom to arrive for a wedding feast. In Jewish culture, weddings were massive celebrations that could last for days, and the bridesmaids' job was to light the way when the groom came to collect his bride, often late at night.
All ten brought oil lamps, but here's the key: five brought extra oil, five didn't. As they waited (and waited), their lamps began running low. When the bridegroom finally arrived at midnight, the five with extra oil quickly refilled their lamps and joined the wedding procession. The five without extra oil frantically tried to buy more, but by the time they returned, the doors were shut and the feast had begun without them.
Five virgins were taken - they had prepared and 'got their house in order'. Five virgins were left behind - they did not prepare and were left behind. Note that all 10 virgins fell asleep. This is not a case about trying to guess the exact time Jesus is coming, BUT it is about preparation. If you KNOW he is coming soon, ‘go buy extra oil’ now. Prepare. How are you getting your house in order?