Tag: Holy Spirit

The 5 Wise Women

~ Sowmya Gali

Matthew 25: 1-13

“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ But while they were on their way to buy oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said. ‘Open the door for us!’ But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’ Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” (NIV)

The five wise women had planned very well for the wedding banquet. They not only carried their lit lamps but some extra oil in case the oil in the lamp ran out. The five foolish ones didn’t have the foresight so they just carried their lamps. Maybe they have been used to the bridegroom not showing up as expected during previous occasions. Every night of preparation may have come to naught and so they must have relaxed on this particular day. And so, one of the reasons for their lack of preparedness.

Every time we as a family embark on a trip, my husband constantly reminds my son and me to take at least two sets of extra clothes: one for back-up and another one as a back-up for the back-up. I always used to shake my head wondering why we need to carry extra baggage. Incidentally, there have been several occasions, where the back-up and the back-ups for the back-up have come in handy and saved the day. Lord knows, how thankful I am for my wise husband who had the foresight, despite the cumbersomeness of extra bags.

In Matthew’s recording of Jesus’ parable of ten virgins, Jesus talks about being prepared for His coming. We do not know the day nor the hour of His return. Jesus previously mentioned that neither the angels nor He knows of His return except the Father in heaven. Therefore, He cautions us to be ready. Jesus reminded us constantly to watch and pray. But how do we go about being watchful and praying? Many of us are aware that we should meditate on the Word as much as we can and praying constantly.

Digging deeper reveals more in this parable. The two significant words are ‘lamp’ and ‘oil’. In Psalms 119: 105, the Psalmist relates lamp to word. The Word of God is indeed the lamp that we need in our daily lives. If we didn’t have the Word, how do we go about? Our moral compass is rooted in the Word. Meditating on this Word gives light to the path that we are predestined to walk. A lamp lightens a short path in front of us when we are walking in the dark. We might not even see ten to fifteen steps ahead with such lamps. The role of lamp is to give light for a short distance. Our dependence on the Word of God, which is the lamp, is needed for our day to day lives. Our meditating on the Word daily, is the required amount of light for the day.

Oil on the other hand represents the Spirit. When anointed by oil, the Spirit of the Lord came to dwell with the person. 1 Samuel 16: 13 records of when Samuel anointed David with oil, the Spirit of the Lord came upon David and empowered him. In many instances in the Old and New Testaments, whenever oil was poured on someone, they were filled with the Holy Spirit. From the Holy Scriptures we know that the Holy Spirit illumines the centrality of Christ, reveals the will of God and sanctifies the believer into the likeness of Christ, among many other tasks. How do we gain this power of the Holy Spirit? The more we dwell in the Word of God, the more we depend on the Spirit to reveal to us the truth of God. The more we know the truth, the more we will be transformed by His Spirit into His likeness. We may not stop ourselves from displaying the fruits of the Spirit as we rely on Him excessively.

In the parable of ten virgins, the five wise women, not only carried the lamp, which is the Word of God, they carried extra oil, the Spirit of God. All the ten virgins had oil in their lamps but when the lamps ran dry, the wise ones were able to replenish their lamps with the extra oil. In these last days, most of us are relying on church attendance, doing good deeds, moral living, coming from a Christian family and knowing all the right religious lingo as the basis for our assurance of our salvation. However, a clear marker that we have passed from death into eternity is the Spirit’s transforming work in our lives. The inward renewal brings about a new creation, empowering the believer for Kingdom living. Just filling the lamp for the immediate purpose isn’t enough to survive in this wicked world. We need a back-up ‘oil’ to be fully equipped for the day of Lord’s return.

The five wise women advised the five foolish ones to go out and purchase oil from the store. Not a single one of them stopped to consider that if they went to the store in the middle of the night, they would find them closed. In a hurried manner, they scoured the streets for someone who would be willing to sell them oil. Alas! They found none. They returned back to the wedding banquet where the doors were shut. They had the lamps but no oil. They had the Word but no Spirit. They had the material but no substance. They were not empowered by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Beloved, let us light our lamps with the precious oil of the Holy Spirit. Let us constantly be filled with the Holy Spirit so our oil never runs out. Let us be ready, watching, praying and equipped to meet our Bridegroom.

GPS

~ Sowmya Gali ~ 1 Comment

Genesis 12: 1Now the Lord said to Abraham, “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you…”

God called Abraham out of the land of Chaldeans to a land that He will show him. Abraham who probably never heard of Yahweh, the Creator of everything, left his family, his gods, and went in search of the country that Almighty God was going to show him. Can you imagine firstly to hear the voice of God? Secondly, to leave everything he was familiar with and everyone he loved behind? Finally, to trust a strange God and walk in search of the unknown?

Abraham was already a wealthy man when he left his father’s household and moved to Canaan. He, his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot and a large caravan of servants and cattle moved out of Chaldea. Yet to leave everything and follow a voice requires a lot of courage and trust. Imagine the ridicule he could have faced when he announced he heard a voice from heaven! The Book of Hebrews says that by faith Abraham left Ur and went where God called him. His act of obedience has been credited to him as righteousness.

Back in the day, when they didn’t have maps, they probably followed a trade route or a well-trodden path. Traveling in large caravans on unknown roads would have given them some sense of safety from marauders. Abraham, however relied on GPS – not Global Positioning System but God Positioning System. Wherever God led him, he went there. He parked where God asked him to park. He turned where God asked him to turn. As long as Abraham relied on GPS, he was safe, well taken care of and made progress.

After several days of journeying through strange lands, Abraham and his caravan reached the land of Canaan. God appeared to him in Canaan and said that He will give this land to Abraham’s descendants. Abraham now realized that he arrived at his destination. He built an altar to worship the Lord and pitched his tents in between Bethel and Ai. After staying there for a while, famine struck the land. Instead of trusting his GPS, he packed up his tents and went south to Egypt. He must have reasoned that Bethel is not the place to settle if there is famine in the land. Since he didn’t hear God’s voice, he had to take matters into his own hands. He had to lie to save his skin in Egypt. It took a heathen Pharaoh to correct Abraham of his lie. Abraham realizing his mistake returned to Bethel. He strayed from GPS again much later in his life despite seeing God’s handiwork, when he lied to King Abimelech. Despite his straying from the GPS, God appeared to Abraham several more times to assure him of His promise.

As believers in Christ, we all have a special calling from God. When we harken to His voice and in obedience do His bidding, all goes well. We will be blessed, protected and provided. When we stray from the GPS, that is when we land ourselves in trouble. When we question God’s call or His provision, that is when we take matters into our own hands. We try to carve our own path or search for greener pastures and hope that is what God wants us to do. We expect God to fulfill our dreams even though a nagging feeling bothers us. When we stick to the GPS, there is neither second guessing nor there is confusion. With confidence, we march on.

Dear Saints of God, hold on to your GPS. He is forever faithful and true. He never disappoints us. Even though you are going through wilderness, when the horizon seems bleak, God is walking ahead of you – clearing the path, behind you – protecting you from the enemies/threats of the past, and beside you – assuring you of His promises. He is a loyal leader who leads His sheep to greener pastures and running waters. Don’t get discouraged when traveling through the desert. Don’t get distracted by the mirages of life. They will disappoint you. Instead trust in the GPS that is within you – His Holy Spirit to lead you through this life until we reach the Eternal City. Just like Abraham who was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God (Hebrews 11: 10), let us remain faithful to God. Let us remain steadfast to the path that God has put us on until Christ returns for us to take us to that Eternal City or beckons us to our Eternal Home.