Old Oil
In 1828, a Botanist named A. P. de Candolle, discovered one of the most beautiful and rare flowers on earth. The “Queen of the Night” orchid blooms only once a year, and only at night for a few short hours. It happens so fast that most people will never get to experience its bloom in person. It is mostly found in botanical gardens and not often seen in the wild. It looks like any old cactus type plant for 364 days of the year, until it begins to bloom.
People who eagerly await the flower’s bloom even have “watch parties” in anticipation of the event. They study the signs of the orchid leading up to its bloom in order to know when to invite everyone over to witness its rare and illustrious beauty.
They watch in amazement throughout the night just to get a glimpse of the flower in full bloom. They are willing to lose sleep and block out valuable rest just to witness a momentary sight of beauty. Once it blooms, the peak of its beauty lasts for maybe an hour before it suddenly dies and disappears.
In scripture there’s a heart wrenching story that Jesus tells of another quickly arriving and fleeting moment. He shares it to give his disciples an image of how the end times will look for those that have a real relationship with him, and to share what it will be like for those who don’t.
1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. — Matthew 25:1-13
In the parable, Jesus makes sure to mention two very important elements, lamps and oil. The lamps represent our lives while the oil represents the Presence and Spirit of God inside of us.
Lamps = My Life
Oil = God’s Presence and right relationship with him.
The five wise virgins not only had plenty of oil inside their lamps, but they had also stored up extra oil because they didn’t want to let their light go out. They knew they needed to be able to see their groom returning. They waited with prepared and with expectancy.
The five foolish virgins had a little oil in their lamps but no extra. When their oil was almost gone, they realized their mistake. They ran to get more but were too late. The groom had come back while they were gone and the door had been shut. They were left outside begging to come in, but the groom replied that he did not know them. Ouch…it seems so harsh. But is it?
Jesus is the Groom and all of us believers are the Bride in his story. Thus the representation of the virgins and being pure and spotless. All ten virgins had oil in their lamps, meaning that all of them, even the foolish, had some kind of encounter with God at one point. They had all known Him, but only the wise virgins had continued to seek Him.
The five foolish did not run out of oil because they were bad doomsday preppers. They ran out because they did not continue to pursue God. They expected their limited experiences with God to last them for eternity. They had the mindset of using God instead of knowing God.
It's much like the gas or the oil that we use in our cars, boats, mowers, and more. Why would we think that one fill-up at the pump or one oil change would last us a lifetime? We must continually take care of things, so why would we not desire to continually take care of our greatest relationship?
We need to keep our lamps full!
I think a lot of us, including myself sometimes, get comfortable with the last thing God did or showed us. We try to live off of the old experience. We think the old oil will keep our lives burning for God. But how would that work in a marriage? Does one kiss, one smile, one vacation, and one “I love you.” keep the relationship vibrant and burning? No.
We all know about the youth camp stories and experiences, or the powerful altar time, the experience of God helping you through loss or bullying, or how God soothed you through the pain in your family. Maybe God set you free of sin and your depressions and anxieties. All of these experiences left you feeling so free and emotionally high! But for many of us, that’s all they were — experiences.
You might have lost your focus on God and suddenly the One who fueled you has been neglected. The passion wore off, the shiny become dim, and the new suddenly aged. You burnt up all of your oil. You didn’t expect it.
So many of us are trying to live off of old oil, hoping that it keeps our flame and passion burning, but the good news is that you don’t have to make that old experience with God last a lifetime. God wants to continue having new encounters and experiences with you. God is ready with new oil.
When God becomes a powerful experience more than an intimate encounter for you, you will always be living off of the last “high” you got from Him.
God is more than just an experience to have, He’s a Father to Hold you. He’s a new outpouring of His Spirit. He’s a new anointing upon your life. He’s mercy new every morning. We get to store up His Spirit to the point of overflowing!
But as the Groom coming back for His Bride, us the Church, He isn’t coming back for strangers, He’s coming back for those that eagerly await His coming — His Bride.
27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. — Hebrews 9:27-28
Do we, as Christians, eagerly wait and keep watch with amazement for our King to return? People gather for the “Queen of the Night” to bloom with great expectancy. They have faith that it will return just like it did the year before. Jesus is returning, and we should have great faith and expectancy that He’s coming back. We must have oil stored up, and keep our lives lit with the fire of the Holy Spirit.
God’s word says that we are to be alert, our fire blazing, our lamps lit, pure and holy (dressed in white) before Him, because when He comes, He will only take those who are ready.