What is the proof of your hope?

The apostle Peter teaches us to always be prepared to give the reason for the hope that we have (1 Pet 3:15). That means the hope we say we have needs proof. It isn't just a nice phrase: it shows up in the way we live.

To look at this, I want to go with you to a confronting word from Jesus, the parable of the ten virgins, in Matthew 25:1-13. Five were wise and took oil in jars. Five were foolish and took only their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, they all fell asleep, and at midnight the cry rang out: the bridegroom is coming. The ones who were ready went in to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut. Jesus ends by saying: keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

1. The context of the parable

1.1 The signs of Jesus' return

Jesus had said that not one stone of the temple would be left on another. On the Mount of Olives, the disciples asked about the signs of His coming, and He answers in Matthew 24 and 25. Part of this was fulfilled in the year 70, with the destruction of Jerusalem, but some elements concern the church, concern us.

All the parables in this passage share the same center: how to live watchfully in the Kingdom of God.

1.2 What it means to keep watch

Biblical watchfulness isn't walking around suspicious. It is being attentive, focused on what the Lord is doing. The opposite of keeping watch is living distracted, simply letting life happen.

Keeping watch is a disposition of the heart. It is fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith (Heb 12:2). And distraction has a root: a lack of hope.

1.3 The Jewish wedding

The parable uses the Jewish wedding as its backdrop:

The families made the contract and the groom paid the bride price.
The groom went back home, worked and prepared the place where he would live with his bride.
When the father approved, the groom set out in a procession, at night, to the bride's house.
The bridesmaids waited with lamps to light the way.

Jesus does exactly that. He went to prepare a place for us (John 14:2). The church is already promised to Him. And He will come at a time of darkness for the world, but not for us, because we have a lamp and we have oil.

1.4 The bridegroom's delay

Almost two thousand years have passed, and the promise still stands. Peter explains that the Lord is not slow: He is patient, because He wants everyone to come to repentance (2 Pet 3:9). Jesus said the gospel of the Kingdom would be preached in the whole world, and then the end would come (Matt 24:14). That's why the urgency of going to the nations is part of preparing for Christ's return.

2. Hope on a personal level

2.1 The lamp and the oil

All ten virgins had lamps. The lamp is the religiosity everyone can see. The oil in the jar is the spirituality only God can see.

Until the bridegroom was delayed, they all looked the same, just as the weeds and the wheat can only be told apart when the fruit appears (Matt 13:24-30). We can have the look, the language and the habits of a believer and still be foolish.

Notice: Jesus first says they were foolish, then shows the result. Forgetting the oil wasn't an occasional slip. It was the fruit of who they were. They didn't truly believe the bridegroom would come, so why bring a reserve?

2.2 Expectation is not hope

Sometimes we have plenty of expectations and little hope. Expectation stands still, waiting for someone else to do everything. Hope prepares and moves toward what it is waiting for. God Himself acts on behalf of those who wait for Him (Isa 64:4).

Think of a young man who wants to get married. Take care of yourself, work, prepare a home, look for someone who loves Jesus: every piece of advice is about movement. Whoever has hope moves.

That's how it was with Israel. God promised the land, but the people had to scout it out, get organized and fight. At Jericho, God brought the walls down, but the people still had to go in and fight. God's promise is direction for your life, not an invitation to stand still.

2.3 The proof of hope in your spiritual life

Now bring this into your life with God. You say you want more intimacy with the Lord, that you want to be used more. So where is your prayer? Where is the oil in your jar?

Want to be a pastor? How much do you study the Bible?
Want a deeper relationship? How are you preparing for it?

Even after Jesus' death, Peter didn't stand still: he went back to fishing, and Jesus came to meet him on the shore. God will frustrate our expectations, but He will honor the hope that moves. One plants, another waters, but it is God who makes things grow (1 Cor 3:6-7). And what growth will He give if no one planted?

3. Oil can't be borrowed

The wise virgins couldn't share their oil. No one can have hope for you. Your spiritual life can't be outsourced to the pastor, the leader, your father, your mother or your spouse. God has children, not grandchildren. He wants a relationship with you.

When the foolish ones came back, the door was shut, and the bridegroom said: I don't know you. That should make our souls tremble. It is possible to have a lamp, to look like a believer your whole life, even to do works in Jesus' name, and still hear that there was never a relationship (Matt 7:22-23).

Conclusion

There is still grace. It is written of Jesus that He will not break a bruised reed or snuff out a smoldering wick (Matt 12:20; Isa 42:3). He doesn't want to put out your lamp: He wants to fill it with His oil. It's no accident that Jesus taught this on the Mount of Olives, and that on the night He was betrayed He was in Gethsemane, a name tied to the olive press.

The proof of your hope is the oil you carry, the reserve of the Lord's presence that you seek in secret.

So I ask you: today, does your life show a hope that prepares or just an expectation that stands still? How much oil is in your jar?