There are few biblical stories more memorable than the example of the Ten Virgins. However, to modern Christians, we can perhaps relate more closely to the Ten Lottery Ticket Holders. Or better yet, let’s look at this example in the light of the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes.
To win the sweepstakes, a contestant doesn’t enter and immediately collect a prize. Rather, to be considered as a potential winner takes many returned forms and lots and lots of patience.
Only those who stay the course have any real chance of winning, but what a prize lays in store for those who manage to snag the brass ring as it goes by!
Now, let’s compare that picture to the Ten Virgins found in Matthew 25, 1-13:
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
The virgins are the church, of which we are part. Ten is the number of perfection, and all the virgins, by nature of their position in the wedding, were close friends of the bride.
And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
While all the virgins were the same to the observer, not all had the same character. Each had the same lamps, but each did not have the same diligence in preparing for her job as attendant to the bride.
They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them.
Whether we blame it on the excitement of the day or irresponsible shortsightedness, the oil was forgotten. It is easier to understand the disparagement when we picture the lamps. By design, the oil reservoirs were very small. Even if the lamps were full, they would not burn for long. Spiritually, these five had an outward show of faith, but they failed to keep God first in their hearts.
But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
This is where foresight comes into play. These five virgins did not expect to run out of oil, but it was better to be safe than to be sorry. In a spiritual sense, they renewed themselves by reading the Word, through much prayer, and by close association with the Holy Spirit. They had a reservoir of spiritual unity with God that they could pull from in hard times.
While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
Lamps were lighted in anticipation. When the bridegroom was late, the virgins’ minds drifted to other perhaps more pragmatic things, such as hunger, thirst, or lack of sleep. Eventually, they were not thinking of the bridegroom at all.
And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
The call was sudden. In Matthew 24 and 1 Thessalonians 5, the Word says “as a thief in the night.” Wakened from a sleep, the virgins were no doubt in some confusion as to the noise. The rush of excitement must have been intense.
Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
As the wick burns down, the blackened portion of the wick must be cut away. This was done by second nature in the timeframe of Christ. At the same time, the virgins would have noticed the amount of oil left in their lamps.
And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
Five had been wise, and five were unprepared. Yet, it is not possible for the good deeds of one person to elevate another into heaven. We can’t trade “heaven credits” to average out our sinful natures. To ask is to be foolish.
But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
In our Christian walk, each must stand for himself. No one can profit off the purity and humility of another. The five wise virgins understood this implicitly. Even if they had wanted to share, they couldn’t.
And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
The five wise virgins had kept the truth of God alive in their hearts. However, when the foolish virgins tried to patch things up, they found it was too late. They had lost out on something irretrievable.
Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
They no longer pleaded with the bridal party. Rather, they turned to the groom, himself. They knew the rights of abrogation now fell into the hands of the groom. It was his party, and he now called the shots.
But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
The first five (and wise) virgins had joined in the wedding celebration. They had communed with the groom, and he now knew them. The final five (and very foolish) virgins were unknown to him. He can only know us if we spend time in prayer with him, for it is by communion that we become like him.
God gives us a final warning in the last verse in this passage: Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
Our walk with Jesus is not a lottery drawing, nor is it a sweepstakes contest. Even though we may grow weary, we are in a life and death struggle. If we are wise, we will find our strength in the Lord. Our lamps will burn with the flame of his wisdom. If we are foolish, we will be unprepared. Our lamps will burn with a foolish flame, soon to be exhausted, and we will be left behind.
To spend time with our Lord is to create a reservoir of strength in him. Then our flame will become a beacon of righteousness unto the world.
Copyright © 2014 MyChurchNotes.net
Code: FGO.B.04.14b.vp