Covenant Devotional #4 - Matthew 25:1-13

“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 ESV)

Inasmuch as what we wait for matters, HOW we wait matters, too. Children have much to teach us about what it looks like to live in a spirit of joyful (if often impatient) expectation. An upcoming birthday, a special outing, a visit from a loved one: we have to be careful how much advance notice we give our five year-old daughter about any occasion of note, because from that very moment, the countdown is on. “How many days NOW?” becomes the refrain, ad nauseam, until the time arrives. A test of patience and grace for us parents, to be sure, but there is something beautiful in her unfiltered longing. Adulthood tends to dim our expectations, doesn’t it?

“(We) know neither the day nor the hour.” How will our Lord find us when he comes? On tiptoe, brimming with joyful expectation for his arrival, or dozing off in the darkness of apathy and unpreparedness? The Lord knows his own, and they are those whose hearts beat with childlike longing until they see his face.

Lord, grant us hearts of unfettered longing, that we may embrace the joy of your coming.