Last Saturday, in Stories Jesus Told, Part 6, we saw from the Parable of the Vineyard Laborers that God asks us to serve Him out of love and humility, not for the reward.
Jesus’ next three parables are recorded in Matthew 25, and they follow a slightly different theme than the ones we’ve been looking at so far in this series. Rather than helping us specifically understand kingdom principles, these three focus on one thing: the return of Christ. We will be looking at each one of these over the course of the next three weeks. We will begin today with the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids, as recorded in Matthew 25:1-13.
You may be familiar with the story. Ten bridesmaids were invited to a wedding feast, and they arrived at the door all ready to enter in and celebrate. The problem was, the bridegroom hadn’t yet arrived! The wait was long, and eventually all ten fell asleep, only to be awoken sometime later with the cry, “Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.” (v. 6b NRSVUE). Unfortunately, the oil each of these bridesmaids had so carefully put in their lamps had all burned out. Five of them were smart. They brought extra oil! The other five have to go out and try to buy oil at this late hour. They eventually found what they sought, but by this time the door was shut. “Lord, Lord, open to us.” (v. 11b NRSVUE), they cry. But they were doomed for disappointment: “Truly I tell you, I do not know you.” (v. 12a NRSVUE).
I love this story for many reasons. For one thing, we notice that all of the bridesmaids fell asleep. Even the wise ones! This is such a vivid image of our day and age. Most Christians, even the ardent ones, are “asleep”—apathetic, worried more about our own affairs than about the end of time. I myself fall into this category. After all, haven’t we already been waiting for Christ’s imminent return for centuries? I think Jesus knew this. He knew that the love of even the most “on fire” for Him would eventually grow cold, and He wants us to know that it’s okay. All of the bridesmaids fell asleep during the long wait!
Some of these bridesmaids, however, had done some prep! They had brought extra oil for their lamps! They were continuing to care for God’s light in them! They had extra reserves! And these were called wise. What we see here is that the problem isn’t that we do fall asleep. The problem is that we are not prepared! We’re not filled with God’s Spirit!
I always wondered why the wise bridesmaids didn’t share their extra oil with the foolish ones who didn’t bring extra oil. The point of Jesus’ story, however, isn’t that these bridesmaids were selfish! Although physical oil can be shared, God’s Spirit cannot! Those who are not full of His Spirit cannot just “absorb” it from those who are! They can’t “buy” it. Rather, they have to be filled with God’s Spirit themselves!
Are you a “wise” bridesmaid or a “foolish” one? Are you filled with God’s Spirit? Do you work to keep the Light of God’s love shining brightly in your heart? Do you long for the Lord Jesus? Do you love Him so much that you would do anything for Him? If so, then you are amongst the “wise”. Even if you fall asleep, you will still be prepared. If, however, you are not filled with God’s Spirit, if you let the worries and the pleasures of life block the light of God’s love in your heart, if you don’t long for Jesus, if you see His service as nothing but a burden, then, my friend, you may not have the reserves necessary for the long wait, and when you are awakened with the cry, “Jesus is coming back”, you may not have what you need to get that light of God’s love burning in your heart again!
So what is the responsibility of the “wise”? To work with the foolish. To encourage them to have their own personal relationship with Jesus. To encourage them to trust our Lord and Savior, to long for Him, to love Him enough to make Him their first priority! In essence, the “wise” among us will be busy discipling the “foolish”, helping them also to have their “oil reserves”!
Please join us next Saturday as we continue to find hidden truths in the “Stories Jesus Told.”
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart
Author, Moderator, Acting Director, Answers2Prayer Ministries
(To access the entire “Stories Jesus Told” mini-series, please click here!)
