People prepare many things for a new year. They get calendars and diaries, buy new clothes for New Year’s Day or deep clean their homes to renew their minds. They do all these things probably because they wish to spend the new year meaningfully.
In the Bible, we can find the parable of the ten virgins waiting for the bridegroom with their lamps in their hands. The five wise virgins prepared enough oil for their lamps, so they were able to meet the bridegroom when he suddenly arrived at midnight. However, the five foolish ones were too lazy to prepare their lamps, and while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived, so they could not enter the wedding banquet.
The word “suddenly” has no meaning to those who are always prepared. So it is commonly said that preparation yields no fear or worries. This means that when you are well prepared, you have nothing to fear or worry about.
Now is the time to prepare the oil of faith. In ordinary times, there seems to be no difference between those who are prepared and those who are not—those who are wise and those who are foolish. However, when the Bridegroom comes, they will be definitely distinguished from each other.
Let us examine ourselves to see if we study God’s word every day, if we worship in spirit and in truth, and if we treat our brothers and sisters with love, and then fill ourselves with the enough oil of faith while living holy and godly lives. In addition, let us make every effort to quickly lead the souls, who tremble in fear because of disasters, to Zion—the ark of salvation, so that we can all prepare for the kingdom of heaven together.
God has given us another year of grace when we can work. In this new year, we hope that you will prepare yourself fully through faith by taking firm hold of the opportunities given to you, so that you will be able to receive Father without any shame both physically and spiritually, as the saying goes: “Preparation yields no fear or worries.”
What should we prepare for the new year?