The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Matthew 25:1-13, “Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went out to meet the bridegroom.

2 “And five of them were foolish, and five were prudent.

3 “For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them,

4 but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps.

5 “Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep.

6 “But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’

7 “Then all those virgins rose, and trimmed their lamps.

8 “And the foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’

9 “But the prudent answered, saying, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’

10 “And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut.

11 “And later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’

12 “But he answered and said, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’

13 “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.

Did anyone ever shut a door on you? Why would anyone do that? Why are doors

ever shut? Pretty easy to say, isn’t it? A door serves two purposes: it keeps out

people who are not wanted; and it keeps safely people who are on the inside. The

Old Testament Scriptures speak of opening and closing doors more than 240 times.

(Noah (Gen 6); Lot (Gen 19); Ehud (Jud. 3); Samuel (1 Sam 3) opened the doors;

Amnon ( 2 Sam 13) lock the door; Elisha (2 Kng 4 & 6 & 9) shut the door; Ahaz (2 Chr 28

& 29) closed & opened the doors; Nehemiah (Neh 6 & 7) close the doors; bolt the doors;

Esther (Est 6 & 7) close…bolt the doors; and many, many others.)

In our verses for today, Jesus is talking about His return. He is the Bridegroom. The

Church is His bride. Some have oil in their lamps: they are ready for His Coming! Others

lack oil: they are not ready for His Coming. As with the door to Noah’s ark, the door of Christ’s Coming was then shut. Those on the inside of the door are secure –they were ready for His Coming. Those on the outside of the door were not ready and will be left behind for judgment.

Our Junior Choir at church used to sing:

One door and only one,

And yet its sides are two;

Inside and outside,

On which side are you?

One door and only one,

And yet its sides are two;

I’m on the inside

On which side are you?

Those of us on the inside can rejoice; still, we have an obligation to

reach those, who do not know Him as LORD and Savior. Maybe the

attachment to this letter will help you to help others. The Internet

is a useful avenue for sharing the Gospel. God bless you!

We love you and pray daily for you,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”