In the parable of the ten virgins waiting for the bridegroom, five of them had oil reserves, while the other five did not. The ones who had oil reserves were called wise, and the ones who lacked it were called foolish. The oil represents the Holy Spirit, and the lamp’s light symbolizes the Word. In other words, all of them had lamps, but not all of them carried extra oil.
The Word of God is available to everyone. Most people have a Bible at home, whether they read it or not, and they know about it. However, not everyone has developed a relationship with the Holy Spirit, that "extra oil." Having more oil means sacrifice, dedication, love for God, intimacy, daily pursuit, dying to self, and letting Him live through us.
The Scripture says: “Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The foolish ones didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps, but the wise ones took extra oil. When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight they were roused by the shout: ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’” (Matthew 25:2-6, NLT).
All of the virgins were waiting for the bridegroom, but not all were prepared. Similarly, many of us are waiting for Jesus, but we aren’t ready. While we don’t know when He will return, He promised to come back for His church, and He will fulfill that promise.
Yet, many of us are like the foolish virgins, resting on our past victories and accumulated knowledge, but lacking a living relationship with the Holy Spirit. Our words and actions, instead of drawing people closer to Jesus, may push them away.
We are not prepared for His return. We believe that what we have today is enough for a lifetime, but we might be surprised. Today, I invite you to become a wise person, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, to live out everything you’ve read and learned from the Word of God.
Written by Víctor Preza, based on the sermon from October 5th, 2024.
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