Outside

Read Matthew 25:1-30.

Two parables. Two apocalyptic parables (and if that word is unfamiliar, go back and read yesterday's blog). Two strange parables deeply rooted in their culture. To try to take them and apply them directly to our world is irresponsible and does violence to the text. Any good commentary or study Bible will help you understand the background of a first-century wedding or the lack of sharing that takes place among the virgins. That's important information as we try to understand these parables.

What I'm struck by in both these parables, though, is this: there are people who are in and there are people who are out. Jesus' main point, in case you missed it, in these parables is that you don't want to be among those who are on the outside. The five foolish virgins (as if the adjective "foolish" wasn't clear enough) weren't prepared to go into the wedding feast, and so while they try to do their last-minute preparations (things they should have already done), they are left outside. The man who had only one talent does nothing with what he has and so he is thrown out (to a place where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth--sounds like a place I don't want to be!). In both stories, Jesus' urgency can be summed up this way: do what you can now to make sure you're on the inside.

We live in an age where everyone, it is assumed, is "in." We give trophies to everyone whether they have done anything or not. The kid who picks dandelions on the soccer field is rewarded at the same level as the kid who wins the game. We drift toward a theology of universalism, where everyone is saved in the end. I remember having a conversation with a friend many years ago, discussing that belief, and I said, "I'd like to believe that. I really would. My only problem is that Jesus doesn't seem to talk that way." Jesus, in these parables and in other places, assumes there are those who are in and those who are out. There are those who receive the reward and those who do not. But get this: it's not by his choosing or because he doesn't like certain people. It's our choice. We either make preparations for being "in" or we don't. C. S. Lewis put it this way: there are only two kinds of people in the world. Those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, "Thy will be done." The only ones who are "out" are those who choose to be out, those who choose to reject Jesus and prefer to spend their lives and eternity without him.

This is a hard word, but Jesus is nearing the end of his life. He doesn't have time to soft pedal anything. His tone is urgent. His stories are divisive. And he's okay with that, because he knows the seriousness of this matter. Make preparations now. Use what you have in service to the king. Be ready. Make plans to be on the inside because the outside is where the king is not.

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