The Bible says that Jesus died on the cross and came back alive. After that, he went up to heaven to be with God. Before he went to heaven, he said that someday he would return. He would return to the earth and get all the people who loved and obeyed him. He would take them back with him so they could live in heaven too.

So Jesus will come back someday and take us to heaven. When do you think that will happen? Could it be today? Could it be tomorrow? Could it be 20 years from now? No one can answer that question. No one knows when Jesus will come back to the earth.

No one knows when Jesus is coming back, but there is something we do know. Jesus said to get ready. How do we get ready for Jesus to come back? We get ready for Jesus by obeying God and by loving him. Are you ready?

In the bible, we read about a time when Jesus was teaching people to get ready for when he comes back. To help them understand about getting ready, he told a parable. A parable is a story that helps people to understand something very important. Here is the parable:

Once there was a big wedding. The wedding was so big that there were 10 bridesmaids. The bridesmaids all helped the bride get ready for the wedding. Weddings back then started at night. Everyone knew that sometimes during the night, the groom would come to the bride’s house and call out for her. The bridesmaids would hold up their oil lamps so that the bride and groom could see each other. The groom would be so happy to see his beautiful bride!

Everyone would keep holding up their lamps so that everyone could walk down the streets all the way to the groom’s house. Then there would be dancing, eating, and lots of fun celebrations at the wedding.

In Jesus’ parable, he told what happened when the ten bridesmaids helped the bride get ready for the wedding. Five of the bridesmaids were wise. They knew that sometimes the groom would wait long before he came to get the bride. So the wise bridesmaids brought extra oil for their lamps. They wanted to be ready even if the groom came very late in the night.

The five other bridesmaids were foolish. They did not think about bringing extra oil.

After the bridesmaids got the bride ready, they waited for the groom to come. They kept their lamps lit so they would be ready when he came. As time passed, the bride and all the bridesmaids got sleepy and fell asleep.

Then someone shouted, “Here’s the bridegroom, come outside and meet him!”

The bride and all of the bridesmaids woke up. They fixed their lamps to make them nice and bright. The five foolish girls noticed that their lamps had run out of oil and had burned out. They asked the wise girls for oil, but there was enough for them to have some too.

The foolish girls had to go and try to find more oil for the lamps. They did not get to go out with the bride to meet the bridegroom. They did not get to walk down the streets to the wedding feast with all of their friends. They were too busy trying to find oil.

When the wise bridesmaids and everyone else arrived at the groom’s house, they went inside and began the celebrations. The groom shut the door and locked it so no strangers could get inside. The foolish bridesmaids were not allowed in when they came to the door. The groom didn’t even know who they were!

This parable explains how it will be when Jesus comes again. We do not know the day or the time when Jesus will come back. We should always love God and obey him so we will be ready whenever he comes. We want to be ready to go with Jesus to heaven.  Are you ready?

Scripture Reference: Matthew 25:1-13