In this daily Bible reading Jesus tells his disciples a parable about 10 virgins who were waiting to meet the bridegroom. Each had a lamp. Five of the virgins had extra oil for their lamps. Five did not. When the bridegroom arrived in the middle of the night, the five with extra oil for their lamps were able to meet him. The five without extra oil could not. The five with oil were accepted by the bridegroom. However, the five without oil were rejected. This parable is a picture of the necessity to remain faithful to Jesus Christ for our entire lives, especially the latter part of our lives. The Bible says that we must ‘persevere to the end of our lives to be saved.’
Jesus also told a parable of three slaves who were given money by their master to manage while he went on a journey. To one slave the master gave five talents; to the second he gave two talents; to the third he gave one talent. The one with five talents invested and doubled his money. The one with two talents also invested in doubled his money. But the slave was one talent just buried the money. When the master returned he was pleased with the first two slaves and gave them more responsibility. However, he was quite angry with the slave who did not invest his money. He cast that slave into the outer darkness.
This parable tells us that God expects us to use the talents he has given us for good. Our Faith must be active. The Bible says that we must ‘bear fruit’ in our lives. The ‘fruit’ of our lives will be evidence of our belief.
