Focus, Focus, Focus! – By Eliezer Gonzalez

Focus, Focus, Focus! – by Eliezer Gonzalez

Jul 18, 2016 4422

At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise (Matt. 25:1–2).

The Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matt. 25) reminds us how important it is to focus on the right things. What was the difference between the five foolish virgins and the five wise virgins? Here is the difference: the foolish virgins focused on the wrong thing, and the wise ones focused on the right thing.

The foolish virgins were focused only on the imminent arrival of the Bridegroom. That’s why the foolish virgins didn’t bring oil for their lamps; they didn’t need it; when the Bridegroom came, all would be well. They focused principally on a future joy at the end of the world. But when the Bridegroom arrived, it didn’t go well for them at all.

The wise virgins were also looking forward to the arrival of the Bridegroom. However, these wise virgins brought back-up oil with them. They go into life with plenty of oil. It is the oil that gets them through until they meet the Bridegroom in the flesh. These wise virgins focused on the present joy and assurance of the Spirit of Christ with them now – a joy that would only increase when the wedding banquet started.

Sadly, there are too many “no-oil” Christians. They profess a future hope, but they lack the Spirit of the Lord in their lives today. Machines with no oil make horrible noises and don’t work. In the same way, these Christians are the ones who are judgmental, critical, and demanding of others. They haven’t allowed the Spirit of God to work in their lives.

And then there are the Christians who can face life confidently, whatever it may throw at them, because they know that the oil will get them through. And they are the ones who make it into the wedding banquet with Jesus. The people who enjoy Jesus in the future are the ones who focus on Jesus today. Which one are you?

How can you make sure that you have the oil of the joy of Christ in your life? What can you do to start focusing more on Jesus, not in the future, but today?

– Eliezer Gonzalez

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