Great is our Lord, and of great power; His understanding is infinite. Psalm 147:5 KJV.

And in our chapter, Matthew 25, Jesus, the Son, tells His disciples then and now how to be prepared for that time when He returns. “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. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet Him!’ Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with Him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ But He replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” v. 1-13. Each of us needs to be prepared and by trusting Creator God, we know Him and He knows us. “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey who called His servants and entrusted His wealth to them. To one He gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then He went on His journey.” v. 14-15. Each was given according to his ability…and when Jesus returns, what will we bring with us of the wealth of God’s love and truth? In this parable, the man given five bags and the one given two bags each returned with twice as much as was entrusted to them and each received the blessing of, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your Master’s happiness!” v. 21, 23. And the man given one bag, also according to his ability, squandered what was given. “Master,” he said, “I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid Your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to You.” v. 24-25. Here is what belongs to You? Creator God shares His love and His truth so we can have abundant life lived in the light with Him…and with others. Can we grasp so great a blessing? That man couldn’t. “So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” v. 28-30. Can we see that the darkness outside is where people live without the love of Creator God and His love for us and others? Is that not where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth from the suffering and indifference toward those hurting? And then Jesus tells them and us what makes a difference in the light of God’s love. “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited Me in, I needed clothes and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.’” v. 31-36. Imagine standing with all nations…and there is an inheritance prepared since the creation of the world…and it all is about loving God and loving others. Are we loving God and loving others? Have we taken the first step in realizing the darkness is our lack of love for God and for others? For those who have been learning with God’s help to love Him and love others throughout their lives, they ask the same question as those who chose to live in the darkness of choosing not to love…“Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and invite You in, or needing clothes and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and go to visit You?” v. 37-39, 44. And Jesus’ answer to both? “‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of Mine, you did for Me…Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’ Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” v. 40, 45-46. Those are strong and sobering words. And Jesus spoke them. And no matter what we may think or reason, what will matter in this life and when we stand before the Son of Man in His glory…is that it is what He thinks that counts. And what He desires is that we love Him and that we love one another, because Creator God is love and He loves us. Does that sound too good to be true? Then you do not yet know Creator God. He knows you. He loves you. He loves the people we love and the people we ignore. It is too big for us in our own strength but that’s the whole point! We need God! As we turn to Him, we can begin to receive the oil for our lamps that light the way to deeper love for Him and for others. His love is the only way. He has prepared a kingdom that has been prepared for us since the creation of the world! That’s why He created! His Kingdom is Love. How else could He give Himself for us? Because we are loved. And we need Him. This life is our preparation. What we learn here matters!