Preparing For The Best

Willie Nelson sings; Maybe I didn’t treat you quite as good as I should 
have. Maybe I didn’t love you quite as often as I could have. Little 
things I should have said and done I just never took the time. You 
were always on my mind; you were always on my mind. Maybe I didn’t 
hold you all those lonely, lonely times. And I guess I never told you I’m 
so happy you were mine. If I made you feel second best girl I’m so 
sorry I was blind. You were always on my mind; you were always on 
my mind. Tell me; tell me that your sweet love hasn’t died. Give me; 
give me just one more time to keep you satisfied. Little things I should 
have said, I just never took the time. You were always on my mind; 
you were always on my mind.

There are three choices by which we can hear the words that Willie 
Nelson sings. Some make the choice to drink to the words, some 
make the choice to cry over the words, some make the choice to 
learn from the words. Sadly, some just don’t get it. 

Open your Bible to Matthew 25: 1-12.

Then the kingdom of heaven shall be compared to ten 
maidens who took their lamps and went to meet the 
bridegroom. Five of the maidens were foolish and five 
of the maidens 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 slumbered and slept. But at 
midnight there was a cry, ‘Behold the bridegroom! 
Come out to meet him. Then all those maidens rose 
and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish maidens said 
to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are 
going out.’ But the wise replied, ‘Perhaps there will not 
be enough for us and for you; go rather to the dealers 
and buy for yourselves. And while they went 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 maidens came also, saying, Lord, 
lord, open to us.’ But the Lord replied, ‘Truly I say to 
you, I do not know you.’ 

Let us remember that a parable is a story that conveys a moral truth. 

This morning’s scripture, the parable of the ten maidens, is not about 
ten brides waiting to be married. It is about being prepared. The moral 
truth is that the kingdom of heaven shall be compared to ten maidens 
who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. The lamps 
represent those things the Holy Spirit (the Holy Spirit in this parable 
is the oil in the lamps) uses to lead us to Jesus and to live a Christian 
life. For as the Israelites were lead through the desert by fie and a 
cloud, 

Numbers 9: 15-23, so the Holy Spirit leads us today in the year 2005.

In this parable the maidens are attendants at the wedding, not multiple 
brides for the bridegroom Jesus and the friend of the bridegroom is 
John, John 3: 22-36. The prepared maidens are those who are saved 
and the unprepared maidens are those who are not saved. Many are 
all like the ten maidens on a journey to the wedding but the truth is, 
not all will be invited in to the party for not all will be prepared even 
though Jesus has warned us. There are those who spend their lives 
carrying around signs that read, “BE PREPARED HE IS COMING! 

I believe the parable of the ten maidens is a message for all, a 
Message about being ready and about life and two cups of hot 
chocolate.

A philosophy teacher stood before their class and had some items 
In front of them. As the class began the teacher filled the large 
mayonnaise jar with golf balls and asked the class if the jar was full 
to which they all replied yes. The teacher then picked up a jar of 
pebbles and poured them in the jar and all watched as the pebbles 
rolled into the open areas between the golf balls and all agreed the 
jar was full. Then the teacher picked up a box of sand and poured it 
into the jar and all watched as the sand made its way in-between the 
pebbles and the golf balls. Once again all agreed that the jar was full. 
Then the teacher picked up two cups of hot chocolate and poured
them into the jar and the hot chocolate effectively made its way into 
the jar until the cups that it was poured out of were empty.

The teacher told the students, now this jar represents your life and 
the golf balls are the important things in your life. God, your family, 
your health, your friends and your favorite pass times. And if 
everything was lost in your life only they would remain and your life 
would be full. The pebbles are the other things in your life, your car, 
your books, your music, and the sand is everything else in your life, 
the small stuff. 

Now if you put the sand (the small stuff), into the jar first there is no 
room for the pebbles, all the other things, or the golf balls, that 
which is important in your life. This is true of all our lives for if we 
spend all our lives on the small stuff there is never room for the 
important stuff like family, friends, our faith, living. 

One of the students raised their hand and said, “Teacher, what does 
The hot chocolate represent? The hot chocolate the teacher replied, 
represents that there is always time in our hectic lives to stop and 
have a cup of hot chocolate with a friend.

In life there are two types of death, the death of life, as we know life 
in the sin of the flesh and the missed opportunity to spend eternity 
in heaven. The choice is ours…to sing in our death the tune: Maybe 
I didn’t treat you quite as good as I should have. Maybe I didn’t love 
you quite as often as I could have. Little things I should have said 
and done I just never took the time. Jesus, you were always on my 
mind, you were always on my mind. Maybe I didn’t reach for you all 
those lonely, lonely times. If I made you feel second best Jesus, I’m 
so sorry I was blind. Tell me; tell me that your sweet love hasn’t died. 
Give me, give me just one more time to keep you satisfied. Little
things I should have said Jesus, I AM A SINNER, COME INTO MY 
LIFE AS MY LORD AND SAVIOR, JESUS. I just never took the time. 
Jesus, you were always on my mind; you were always on my mind.

At this very moment there are four choices we have with our lives in 
preparing for the best in this life as well as for eternity. 
ONE: Live FOR TODAY. 

TWO: Cry for that is how God washes our eyes out. Do you remember 
the shortest verse in the Bible? John 11:35, Jesus wept. Jesus wept 
because his good friend Lazarus died. 

THREE: Make the choice to walk daily holding onto the memories of 
our love ones who God has called home. 

FOUR: Remember when one dies physically one can be even more 
alive as they take up residence in God’s eternal home with God and 
those we love. 

It is not easy to think of our loved ones who have died but it is 
devastating to think of missing heaven forever, when we have the 
capacity at this second to celebrate one day in heaven above, as we 
are welcomed to live in God’s house. 

John 11:25-26

Jesus said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life; 
he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. 
Do you believe this? 

Today on All Saints Sunday let us not only be prepared for that which 
is yet to come, death, heaven, but also to remember our love ones in 
alphabetical order that God has called home.

Dorthea Aleshire,   Lois Berner,   Harold Channell,
Roslynn Douglas,   David Gall,   Beverly Hayes,
Betty Ingerman,   Jerry Smith,   Jessie Ann Smith,
Stew Tatro,   Elmer Thomas Twitty Jr.

For God feels your pain over your loved one who has died, but whose 
death has not been in vain.

As Jesus sat in the Upper Room with His disciples: 

Jesus took the bread, broke it and said, take, eat; this is my body
broken for you. Eat this often in remembrance of me. Then Jesus 
took the cup, raised it and said, Take, drink, this is the New 
Covenant shed for you. Drink this often in remembrance of me.

The table has been set come, eat of the body of Christ, drink of the 
blood of Christ and celebrate the life, death and resurrection of 
Jesus Christ and the life of your loved one who has died and now 
lives forever in heaven.

I believe that sports imitates life and the bicyclist Lance Armstrong
rode with the Discovery team. Recently the Discovery tour director, 
Johan Bruyneel stated: “One of the things Lance passed onto me 
was to find motivation out of unpleasant things. I walked away 
thinking about how are we going to win the Tour next year.”

As you reflect on the lives of your loved ones who have died, what 
do you think about? What motivates you in their memory? 

Are you prepared, if someone ask you today, “Are you going to 
Heaven when you die,” what would you say?

Revelations 22:17

The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let him who is 
thirsty come, let him who desires the water of life without 
price.”

Both the Spirit and the bride, the church, extend the invitation to all 
The world to come to Jesus and experience the joys of salvation in 
Christ. The wedding invitation has been given to each one of us, are 
you ready? Are you preparing for the best that is yet to come, a 
reunion with your loved ones who have gone before you? To walk 
in the garden with the one you love and to live in the eternity of 
heaven. 

Let us be in prayer,

Father you tell us, in Matthew 25:13, Watch therefore, for you know 
Neither the day nor the hour. In the words of the contemporary 
Gospel song, People get ready Jesus is coming, coming 
to take you home. May we be ready Father, may all 
know Jesus Christ as their Savior and Father 
in our daily lives may we continue to hold 
onto the memories of our loved ones 
who have died, who now live 
with you, and carry their
memories in our 
heart and 
soul.
Amen



Graphic courtesy of The Bread Site


11/01/2005JWM


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