Oil is needed for the light; no
lantern can burn without oil but we must ensure that we purchase the correct
oil, no man-made oil will do; we must seek out pure spiritual oil. Oil of the
human kind will have no everlasting benefit; our example is the wise virgins
who timeously bought oil for their lanterns. Our objective is to keep them full
to the brim and not to become complacent with the free gift of salvation; “easy
come easy go” must not become our slogan for life. It is very easy to become unperturbed
as curators of our great God. I am finding it rather daunting as I look back on
my life and see how I have been robbed of the role I once had in the body of
Christ. So much wasted time on nothing more than sin! Slice it any way you like
but this then is the cold hard fact of my reality. And I am convinced that I am
not alone!
The time for the harvest is soon
approaching so let us guard against the “little foxes”, home disputes that mean
very little in the context of eternity. So much pathetic energy is wasted on
what keeps us inattentive to our God and King. I thank God that He is so much
wiser than us. What would I do without His mercy and His undying love, thank you
Father God for who you are; “The LORD is my light and my
salvation; whom shall I fear?” If God is for those who belong to Him who can be
against us? This is the truth personified! However
with that said scripture is full of warnings to the professing Christian and if
we become lethargic the bridegroom will announce His arrival at an unexpected
time. We know that some will be caught unawares! If we as parents give our children an instruction
that tuition is for all, both the foolish and the wise have been instructed to
buy oil and to trim their lamps. But sadly only half in this parable respond
positively. God’s sheep hear the Shepherd’s voice, they are aware of the pitch
to that instruction and they respond positively to it. There is a distinct
urgency to that tenor!
It is good to call on the saving
graces of our God, to go back in history to those blessed times we had in
Christ, those times when we felt the goodness of God surround us as we went
about His business, yet we cannot rely on our past to keep our lanterns
burning. We need fresh oil and we need to buy it continuously. It must become a
way of life. This is one of the reasons why we have been placed by God into a
body of believers, to be useful to our God and to others that also belong to
Him.
I am finding a war raging as I have
become rather independent and am far happier doing my own thing, I am wrong! God
help me to seek His face with zeal becoming a way of life once again as that
day draws even nearer.
We must be careful to buy the correct
oil, although petroleum burns it is not fit for the Christians lantern. It must
be the best olive oil that we seek out and that alone will suffice to keep our
lanterns trimmed. “Pretended grace from natural goodness, fancied
grace from priestly hands, or imaginary grace from outward ceremonies will
never serve the true saint of God;” We must go to the olive press of Gethsemane
and only from our Saviour and His sufferings must that oil be purchased. If we
are to live with Him we must be prepare to die with Him, less of self and more
for others is what is needed to keep our
lanterns trimmed. This is not possible if we do not look to God the Holy Spirit
to keep the purest of the oil presses oil in fresh supply. This must begin in
our closets at home with the plea to our God for His graces to carry us home.
It is one thing to roll with the crowd
as if we belong with our lamps trimmed with the wrong oil, dead works alive and
well but quite another for us to die in order that we might live; God help us
as we earnestly seek out His graces to equip us for the Masters use. The only
oil that will stand us in good stead in the oil we find on Gethsemane's hill.
Signing off
Tyrone
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