Protect Your Lamp

“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.” - Matthew 25:1 (Image: Unsplash)

I love hanging out with my friends. There’s no better feeling than spending time with people you have something in common with. I’ve been blessed to share a nine-year friendship with my two besties (they know who they are). We’ve done just about everything together - we met in college, graduated, experienced several milestones, and recently, shared in our girl’s first marriage!

Yep! For a woman, having a good set of girlfriends is fun and can be a very supportive foundation in your development. But not all women are the same. And it’s important to note that not all girls are after a friendship.

Some only want what YOU have…

Let me explain:

In Matthew 25:1, Jesus gave the parable (or told the story) of ten virgins who were traveling by night to meet the bridegroom. As you know, the bridegroom is a word that has been shortened in our time to “groom” - the male being prepared for marriage. In this parable, though they had the same goal of meeting the bridegroom, not all of the virgins had the same game plan.

The parable splits the women into two groups. While five of the virgins were well-prepared, the other five failed to prepare and found themselves begging for help. Both sides needed oil in their lamps to see the bridegroom coming, and without it, they would miss their blessing.

Now, Jesus separated the women into groups for a very specific reason: to compare the wise and foolish women with those of this world. See, Jesus knew that man was sinful in nature, flawed, vain, and often squandered their access to God’s blessings - so God calls such people foolish, like the five women who slept and slumbered while the bridegroom was away. They didn’t even bring oil for their lamps, leaving them at a complete disadvantage.

By comparison, the other five women who waited for the bridegroom were ready, with plenty of oil in their lamps, staying awake and alert for his coming, well prepared to meet him when the cry went out at midnight that he was coming. These are the women Jesus called the wise virgins, those with a true understanding of the blessing in store for them. They can rejoice in the hope of their expectation, because they believed it all along.

If you haven’t figured it out by now, Jesus says the foolish virgins later asked for oil from the wise. If put in the same situation, most lukewarm believers reading this scripture would say the Christian thing to do is share some of their oil with the foolish virgins so that everyone could meet the bridegroom together.

My friends, this is a mistake…

If you read your bible, you would see that the foolish often bring misfortune on themselves by acting unwisely. In a world where the same information reaches everyone individually, why would we sacrifice what we have stored to give to someone who doesn’t appreciate it? James 1:5 says, “And if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of the Lord who giveth liberally and upbraideth (or withholds it) not.”

From this scripture, we see that the foolish (like the five virgins) have had plenty of time and opportunity to prepare for the bridegroom and squandered it.

This leads us back to our discussion about our girlfriends. Some of your besties may not be there solely to support you. If you notice that your friends only seem to show up when you’ve been blessed with a little more than you had before, sticking around for all that they can get, and then leaving when your well runs dry…that is not a true friend. That is someone trying to steal your oil.

And, being a wise virgin, it’s important to ask God for the discernment (spiritual insight) to tell the difference between someone who is a friend and who is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Because there are many out here, all performing (a form of godliness, but denying its power) and waiting for you to show weakness so they can take for themselves.

It’s no better than watching a thief siphon gasoline from your car so that he can fill his.

By now, you should have a clear understanding of how to conduct yourself until the return of Jesus Christ - the trumpet as prophesied in the book of Revelation shall sound, and every eye shall see the dead in Christ rise first. Then those who were wise, faithful to God, believed and obeyed every word written in the bible, and followed all of God’s commandments with a perfect heart, will rise to meet him in eternity.

But those who were foolish, sleeping and slumbering, taking counsel with lesser gods, leaning on their own understanding, disobeying God’s word, and lovers of themselves, will miss the call of Christ, and their only path into eternity. They will be left in utter darkness, with no hope in sight.

Don’t be foolish…time is getting shorter…

If God woke you up this morning, and you are reading this, you have only one choice. Choose Christ, choose life, leave the world’s way of doing things, and come back to your first love. Behold, the bridegroom cometh…will you be ready?