Are You Prepared? The Urgency of Spiritual Readiness

The snow was coming. Everyone knew it. Weather forecasters had been warning about the impending storm for days, giving people plenty of time to prepare. Yet when the storm finally arrived, propane companies had lines stretching into the streets. Grocery stores were emptied of essentials. People scrambled at the last minute to find heat sources, fuel, and supplies they should have secured days earlier.
We had a week to prepare for an earthly storm, and still, many weren't ready.
This raises a profound question that echoes through eternity: If we struggle to prepare for a storm we know is coming, how prepared are we for the return of Christ?
The Parable That Warns Us
In Matthew 25, Jesus tells a striking parable about ten virgins waiting for a bridegroom. In ancient wedding customs, bridesmaids would light the path for the bridegroom with oil lamps during nighttime ceremonies. These ten virgins had one job: be ready when the bridegroom arrived.
Five were wise. They brought their lamps filled with oil, plus extra vessels of oil for refilling. Five were foolish. They brought lamps but no oil—like bringing a car with no keys, attending church without a Bible, or expecting a body to function without blood. It simply doesn't work.
As the bridegroom delayed, all ten grew tired and fell asleep. Then at midnight, the cry rang out: "Behold, the bridegroom is coming! Go out to meet him!"
Everyone jumped up and began trimming their lamps. That's when the foolish virgins realized their catastrophic mistake. Their lamps were going out. In desperation, they turned to the wise virgins: "Give us some of your oil!"
But the wise virgins responded with difficult truth: "No, there won't be enough for both us and you. Go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves."
While the foolish virgins rushed off to buy what they should have already possessed, the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready entered the wedding feast, and the door was shut.
Later, the foolish virgins returned, knocking frantically. "Lord, Lord, open to us!"
His response cuts to the heart: "Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you."
Jesus concludes with this sobering warning: "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming."
The Reality We Face
We've had two thousand years to prepare for Christ's return, yet countless people remain unprepared. The tragedy isn't a lack of warning—it's a failure to act on the warnings we've received.
The truth is straightforward: No one can save you except Jesus Christ. Your spouse cannot save you. Your children cannot save you. Your parents, grandparents, or church cannot save you. Only through the convicting power of the Holy Spirit and the saving grace of Jesus can your soul find eternal life.
The decision to accept Christ is intensely personal. It falls squarely on your shoulders. You can hear the gospel preached, taught, and witnessed countless times, but if you're unwilling to open your heart, listen, and prepare yourself, none of it matters.
The Urgency of Now
Many people say, "I'll accept Jesus when I get old." But there's a critical flaw in that thinking: you may not get old. None of us are guaranteed tomorrow. We don't know when our time on earth will end.
It doesn't matter when Jesus returns if your life ends before that moment. What matters is whether you're ready when your clock stops ticking.
The Bible is living itself out daily. We're witnessing prophecy unfold before our eyes. While no one knows exactly where we are in that timeline, one thing is certain: we're closer today than we've ever been.
Why wait?
Where True Hope Resides
The world has lost hope in many things, but hope starts and ends with Jesus. Not in other people, not in institutions, not in our own abilities—in Jesus alone.
This is truth: Jesus loves you. Real talk: Jesus died for you. He doesn't make mistakes. When He does something, He only has to do it once. His blood washes sins clean, but we must repent and confess our sins to Him.
This requires genuine admission of failure, not the childhood trick of crossing fingers behind our back while promising to do better. Jesus knows our hearts. He knows what we truly mean. Superficial repentance doesn't fool the One who sees everything.
The Door With One Handle
Your heart has a door, but it only has a handle on one side—the inside. You're the only one who can open it. Jesus stands knocking, but He won't force His way in. The Holy Spirit convicts, but the choice remains yours.
Will you open the door?
Don't Be Among the Foolish
The foolish virgins went to the wedding without oil in their lamps. They scrambled at the last minute, trying to prepare for something they'd known about all along. When they finally arrived with what they needed, it was too late. The door was shut.
Don't let that be your story.
Preparation for eternal life isn't something to postpone. It's not something to put off until a more convenient time. The most important decision you'll ever make is whether to repent of your sins and accept Jesus as your Savior.
The Choice Before You
Are you prepared today? Or will you be scrambling as you approach the end of your life or as the world draws to its close?
Being prepared means:

• Acknowledging you're a sinner in need of a Savior
• Believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died for your sins
• Repenting—genuinely turning away from sin
• Confessing Jesus as Lord
• Accepting His free gift of salvation

This isn't earned through good works or religious activity. It's freely given to those who believe and receive it.
The Storm Is Coming
Just as the winter storm arrived after days of warning, Christ will return. The difference is that we knew approximately when the storm would hit. We don't know when Jesus will return.
But we do know He's coming.
The question isn't when. The question is: will you be ready?
Don't be caught without oil in your lamp. Don't wait until the door is shut. Don't hear those devastating words: "I do not know you."
Today is the day of salvation. Right now, the door is still open. Jesus is still knocking. The Holy Spirit is still convicting hearts.
Will you answer?
Your preparation for this moment determines your destination for eternity. Choose wisely. Choose today. Choose Jesus.
Because hope doesn't start with circumstances, achievements, or other people. Hope starts here—with Jesus.