Thursday, November 5, 2026
[Jesus said] “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” (Matthew 25:1-13)
Poor silly girls. They missed out on the party—and why? Because they didn’t think ahead, and so they planned poorly. I’m sure they were very upset—but it was a minor social disaster, after all. There would be other weddings. By the next year, they would have forgotten all about it.
But that’s not the case with us, is it? For us, there is only one wedding that counts—and that is the day Jesus comes to claim His bride, the church, at the end of the world. There’s no way we want to miss out on that celebration! And so we plan ahead, and make sure we’re ready. We want to be at the party!
So what do we need, to be ready? We need Jesus Christ Himself—God who loved us so much He came into our world as a human being to save us all. We know that He loves us, because He willingly suffered and died in order to break the power of death and evil over us all. Jesus has died and risen for us, that we might belong to Him forever.
And that means that, as His people, we too have died to sin and been made alive to God, with new clean hearts that want to do what makes Him happy. We look forward to Jesus’ coming with hearts full of trust and love. And the Holy Spirit lives in us and keeps our lights burning bright, so that others can see and come to know Jesus as well.
WE PRAY: Dear Spirit of God, keep me trusting in Jesus until the day of His coming. Thank You. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reflection Questions: