Jesus told his followers:

1 “The Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 Those who were foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 Now while the bridegroom delayed, they all slumbered and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Behold! The bridegroom is coming! Come out to meet him!’ 7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘What if there isn’t enough for us and you? You go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 10 While they went away to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Most certainly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ 13 Watch therefore, for you don’t know the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”

Matthew 25:1-13 - World English Bible

Jesus told the parable of the Ten Virgins as warning: be prepared. The ten young girls waited for the call of the town crier to announce when the bridegroom would arrive. In the time of Jesus, a wedding occurred when the man and woman crossed the threshold into the compound of the bridegroom's clan. Beforehand, however, the man would go to his future father-in-law to negotiate the dowry. Custom demanded last minute haggling by the parties, so no one knew when the bridegroom would escort his new bride to her new home. When the crier called out the good news, then the party would commence; if the feasting started in the middle of the night, people would nap until then.

Jesus divided the girls into wise and foolish. The titles meant more than knowing and dull; they separated the faithful (wise) from the agnostic (foolish). The difference focused on the oil for their vessels; the wise planned ahead, the foolish did not. The oil symbolized faith fed. The wise prepared for the delay of the Lord through prayer, study and charitable action; the foolish were haphazard. The coming of the Christ would lead the faithful into the Kingdom, which people saw as an endless wedding banquet between God and his chosen.

When the bridegroom arrived with his bride and the wedding began, the family closed the doors to the clan compound for protection from bandits. The girls who delayed called out for admittance, but the bridegroom denied them. They should have come when the crier called, not at a time convenient to them.

Spiritual preparation for the Lord, then, means a day-by-day activity of fortifying faith. It cannot be left for some ideal time of life when we feel ready. The call depends upon God, not upon our timetable.

What have you done today to prepare for the coming of Christ?