Foolish or Wise?

And the foolish said to the prudent, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.” 

Matthew 25:8

Jesus makes it clear in this parable of the wise and foolish virgins that there is a very real danger that some of us will get ourselves locked out of heaven. The question then is who is Jesus and do we really believe what He is saying?

People believe what they like, and sometimes do not even care to find out the truth for themselves. I believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, because of all the prophecies about His coming that were fulfilled. Mathematically speaking, the chance of one person fulfilling only 8 of those many prophecies, is 1 with 17 zeros! There are a lot of other rational reasons why I believe Jesus was sent by the Governor of all the earth, and sea and skies, to teach us how to get into His Kingdom. 

If life was an adventure movie like Indiana Jones and there was a map to this awesome treasure that was more valuable than any unicorn, everyone would be searching for that map, wouldn’t they? But here and now, in our real life, the map is everywhere! In all the bookstores, sitting on our shelves even! All we need to do is sit down, open it up, and ask God to help us find our treasure and He’ll guide us through step by step! 

In the parable Jesus told about the 5 foolish virgins and the 5 wise ones, all 10 were waiting for the bridegroom to arrive. All of them were eager, expectant, vigilant. But alas! 5 of them did not have enough oil for their lamps and their flames were sputtering! They had to leave their waiting post and buy some more oil, and while they were gone, the Bridegroom arrived and they were left outside. 

The lamps represent our spiritual life, and the oil everything that keeps our faith burning brightly. We cannot borrow prayer or studying the Bible from others. We cannot receive it from our parents or borrow from our brothers and sisters in our church or community. We have to have our own oil so we don’t run out. 

Father, thank You for the treasure You have reserved for each one of us. Thank You Jesus for pointing the way and leaving us the map. Thank You Holy Spirit for never leaving us alone as long as we take the time to listen and read Your Word.