“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.”
Matthew 25:1-5 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/mat.25.1-5.KJV
Our Most Important Work
All throughout the Bible, Scripture is abundantly clear that love is at the center of what it is to be a follower of Jesus.
In Matthew 22:36-40, Jesus says the greatest commandment is to love God with everything we are.
In John 13:35, Jesus says that people will know we’re His disciples because of the way that we love others. We won’t be recognized by our knowledge of the Bible, our families, the career paths we take, or the amount of time spent at church. While those are all important things, Jesus says that the most important quality is how we love other people.
1 Peter 4:8 tells us the same thing: we should be among the most loving people on earth, and our goal should be to love each other deeply. Peter, the author of this verse, also says love is the key to forgiving others. Just as we have been forgiven by Jesus, our love for other people should encourage us to forgive those who have wronged us.
Forgiving those who have mistreated us is one of the hardest ...