The Bridegroom Is Coming | Keep Oil in Your Lamp

As children, many of us remember the excitement of waiting for someone we loved. Dressed, ready, watching through the window, counting down the minutes until they arrived.

But do we have that same anticipation for the return of Jesus?

In this episode of Round Table Conversations with Yolimar, we explore Jesus' parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins in Matthew 25 and what it means to "keep oil in your lamp" while we wait for the Bridegroom's return.

Together, we'll walk through the powerful teachings of Matthew 24 and 25, including the Wise and Foolish Virgins, the Faithful and Unfaithful Servants, and the Sheep and the Goats. We'll discuss what true readiness looks like, why these parables bring both comfort and warning, and how we can live each day with faithful expectation rather than fear.

Keeping oil in our lamps isn't about predicting when Jesus will return. It's about remaining connected to Him through faith, surrender, obedience, and intimacy. It's about living in such a way that if Christ returned today, our hearts would already be turned toward Him.

This episode is both an encouragement and an invitation: stay ready, stay faithful, and keep your eyes fixed on the Bridegroom.

Because the One we are waiting for is worth waiting for.

Thank you for spending this time with me. If this episode spoke to your heart, share it with someone who may need encouragement today. Don't forget to follow the podcast so you never miss a new episode.

If you're looking for deeper support, I offer one-on-one coaching where we walk through life, faith, and healing together. You can connect with me at coachedbyyolimar@gmail.com.

Until next time, stay rooted in truth, walk in grace, and trust God in every season.

Transcript

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Welcome to Roundtable Conversations with Yolimar, a space for real, faith-centered conversations about life. I'm Yolimar and I invite you to come with an open heart and mind as we grow together in truth, healing, and God's love. When I was thinking about this episode, a childhood memory came to mind. Maybe you've experienced something similar. You were told that if you behaved, you could go somewhere special. For me, it was always a sleepover at my aunt's house. And when the day finally arrived, we were ready, dressed, shoes on, standing by the door, looking out the window every few minutes, excited, anticipating, watching. We couldn't wait for them to arrive, and it made me wonder, do we have that same excitement for the return of Jesus? Not fear, not anxiety, excitement, expectation, longing for the one who first loved us. There's one phrase that has been repeating in my mind over and over since praying over this episode. Keep oil in your lamp. And the more I sat with it, the more I realized that this isn't just a message about the future. It's a message about today. Because the wise virgins weren't wise because they knew when the bridegroom was coming. They were wise because they stayed prepared while they waited. What if the oil isn't simply about waiting? What if it's about how we're living while we wait? Because oil doesn't magically appear in a lamp. It has to be replenished. And in the same way, our relationship with God requires intentionality, prayer, time in his word, worship, obedience, surrender. Not because we're earning salvation, but because we're cultivating intimacy. I wonder how many of us are living off yesterday's oil, yesterday's prayer life, yesterday's church service, yesterday's encounter with God. Meanwhile, Jesus is inviting us into daily relationship with Him. John 15, four through five reminds us, remain in me as I also remain in you. Notice Jesus said, remain, abide, stay connected. The wise virgins had enough oil because they remained prepared. In Matthew 25, one through thirteen, Jesus tells the story of ten virgins waiting for the bridegroom. Five were wise, five were foolish. The difference wasn't that some knew about the wedding and others didn't. All ten were invited. All ten were waiting. All ten had lamps, but only five were prepared when the bridegroom arrived. This is one of the most sobering truths in scripture. The foolish virgins looked very similar to the wise ones. The difference wasn't appearance, the difference was preparation. And when the bridegroom arrived unexpectedly, it was too late to prepare. What are we doing with our time while we wait? Matthew twenty four, forty two through forty four says, Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this if the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would have not let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. Jesus never told us to predict a day. He told us to be ready. Readiness is not about knowing when, it's about living faithfully until then. In Matthew 24, forty five through fifty-one, Jesus contrasts two servants. One remains faithful while the master is away, the other assumes the master is delayed and begins living however he pleases. The faithful servant lives every day as if the master could return at any moment. Readiness is faithfully serving Jesus in ordinary life. It's obedience when no one is watching, it's integrity when it's inconvenient. It's remaining faithful in the waiting. In Matthew twenty five, fourteen through thirty, the master entrusted resources to his servants before leaving. When he returned, he asks what they had done with what was entrusted to them. One day every believer will answer a simple question What did you do with what I gave you? Your gifts, your time, your opportunities, your influence. Readiness isn't passive, it's stewardship. Matthew twenty five, thirty one through forty six. This may be one of the most sobering pictures Jesus ever gave. The sheep and goats appear together, but eventually they are separated. The sheep demonstrated genuine faith that produced love, compassion, and obedience. The goats claim association, but lacked evidence of transformed hearts. True faith always produces fruit, not perfection, but evidence. So what actually makes us ready for Christ's return? It isn't church attendance alone. It isn't knowing the Bible front to back. It isn't calling ourselves Christian. According to Scripture, readiness begins with genuine faith in Jesus Christ, a surrendered heart, a life being transformed by the Holy Spirit, a relationship with Jesus that is alive and active. I believe these parables serve two purposes. First, they bring tremendous comfort to believers, because if your faith is in Christ, his return is not something to fear, it's something to celebrate. The wedding feast is coming, the master is returning. The kingdom awaits. But second, these parables serve as a warning, because Jesus repeatedly shows us that not everyone who appears ready actually is. Not everyone sitting in church knows Christ. Not everyone who claims faith has surrendered to him. That is a difficult reality, but it is a reality Jesus Himself taught. So what does this mean for us? Keeping oil in your lamp is not about fear. It's about faithfulness. It's choosing Jesus when nobody is watching. It's staying connected while life gets busy. It's seeking Him when everything is going well, not just when everything falls apart. Is living in such a way that if Christ returned today, your heart will be ready. Your heart would already be turned toward Him. Friends, Jesus is not asking us to live in fear of His return. He is inviting us to live in anticipation of it. The same way a child waits at the door for someone they love, watching, hoping, excited, ready. Today I encourage you to sit with this. If Jesus returned today, would he find you faithfully keeping oil in your lamp? And what does your current relationship with him reveal about the answer? You see, the goal is not to become obsessed with predicting Christ's return. This we do not know. The goal is to become so devoted to Christ that whenever he returns, we are ready. Lamps burning, oil full, eyes fixed on the bridegroom, because the one we have been waiting for is worth waiting for. Let me pray. Jesus, thank you for your promise that you are coming again. Thank you that your return is not merely a future event, but a living hope for those who belong to you. Search our hearts, O Lord. Reveal anything that keeps us from fully surrendering to you. Help us not to simply look like followers of Christ on the outside, but to truly know you on the inside. Make us faithful while we wait. Father, make us wise while we watch. Make us ready whenever you call. And may we live with the joyful expectation of a child waiting at the door for someone they love. In your precious and holy name, amen. Thank you for joining me at the table today. If this conversation encourages you, share it with a friend who may need it too. Until next time, may God bless you, guide you, and remind you that you're never alone.