Wesley United Methodist Church, Orange TX

In Matthew 25:1-13 we hear Jesus tell us the parable of the Ten Virgins (bridesmaids) and the Bridal Party.  Jesus again is speaking to the hard hearted, set in their ways, religious authorities.  People who were afraid of the message that Jesus was bringing to them as the Messiah.  Jesus uses this parable because it set a scene that all would recognize.  A bridal party in Israel was something that everyone wanted to be a part of and looked forward to.  Essentially what Jesus is telling the Pharisees and Scribes is that they have come to His party unprepared.  There is no oil in their lamps (Holy Spirit) for the light that will show them the way into Heaven.  Others cannot get that oil (Holy Spirit) for you.  We each and everyone must find the love for God in our own hearts and allow the Holy Spirit to illumine our paths.  When we succumb to the Holy Spirit’s leading ways we then will be able to see through the darkness of this world and go about our lives walking a path alight in God’s love and being a light to others.  We are to be thankful that our God has given us an unlimited supply of oil for our lamps so that we will be ready for that eternity He has promised us.  Our prayer, our study, our meditation and our involvement in the Church will give us more than enough oil through out our lives to give light to our paths and show others the light for their paths.

It was tradition in Jesus’s day to not know when the bridegroom would be coming.  It could be at any time day or night.  One never knew when the bridegroom would send someone out into the streets to announce his coming.  We are to always be ready to hear the call or miss it and be left out in the darkness.

How is the oil level in your lamp?  Our faithfulness in our prayers, study, meditation and Church life are signs of how well we are prepared or even that our lamp is lit.

God’s Peace and Blessings to all,

Randy