A Breakthrough

Written by Judy Johnson
March 13, 2008

I have been struggling with the parable of the ten virgins from the Bible for a long time - ever since I can remember - as a child trying to understand the meaning behind that parable. Jesus told it to his disciples and they wrote it down. Then a breakthrough came for me! First - understanding its important meaning for us as individuals. What makes us different from each other person is our 'character'. This came as a surprise, but this aspect is the key to understanding the parable.

How do we recognize what sets the five virgins apart from the other five virgins? Why are they called, 'the wise' and 'the foolish' virgins? Both the foolish and wise virgins have the exact same thing - the great assistant, Holy Spirit. The Spirit whispers into their ears, or puts ideas into their minds to know which is right or wrong. All the ten virgins loved Jesus. They serve the Lord. Then what is it that makes them different?

The Bible talks of the 'extra oil' and that puzzled me for a long time. I first thought it was extra 'Holy Spirit' to live in our hearts. I was almost right. But there is more to it than that.

A breakthrough came when I realized the place of 'character'. I wondered what does it have to do with the 'extra oil' that the five wise virgins have.

When they woke up, the five foolish virgins found out they did not have 'extra oil'. They went and asked the five wise virgins to give them some of the oil that the wise virgins had saved.

What does character have to do with the 'extra oil'? First, we need to understand what character is. Character is what you are thinking and feeling even when people are not around or looking. It is the real you. I would like to quote from D.L. Woody's writing, "Character is what you are in the dark."

The five wise virgins asked the Holy Spirit to help build their character - to be a better person. The Holy Spirit is to help shape their thinking and feeling. It is their responsibility every day is to ask the Holy Spirit to step into their hearts to renew their spiritual commitment to God. Also, the Holy Spirit helps them to improve their relationship with God. That is the 'extra oil' Jesus was talking about with the five wise virgins. It is found in the character and the fruits of the Spirit. It is shown as written in Galatians 5:22, 23. The Holy Spirit cultivated their thoughts and feelings. Thus, the true character of Jesus was shown in their hearts. This gives them the 'seal' of eternal life from Jesus - to be with Jesus, the groom.

When the groom finally comes, all ten virgins wake up from sleeping and find their oil has run out while they were sleeping. The five foolish virgins panicked when they discovered they were not prepared, and did not have 'extra oil'.

The five foolish virgins did not bother to ask the Holy Spirit to come into their hearts. The five foolish virgins did not bother to change their way of life. They did not let the Holy Spirit help build their foolish virgins' thoughts and feelings so that they revolved around Jesus. That is the important part they have missed. They may have gone to church regularly, paid their tithe faithfully, and been very involved in serving in the 'duties ' within the church. Life may have become so hectic [busy] that they may have had no time set apart to pray, study and talk with Jesus. They did not invite Him into their hearts daily or, they may not have wanted to change their lifestyle. They were still the same person as before. They may feel no need to improve the character of their thoughts and feelings in their daily life. They may think they have plenty of time to 'enjoy' life before they change their lifestyle.

Too often someone has told me that they would wait until they get to their forty's or sixty's to change their life. They think to wait until they are getting old, then invite Jesus into their lives. I wonder - what if their plane crashed, or they had an auto accident or were shot by some drive-by gangster. What if their life is taken away from them and they are unprepared, and all is utterly lost. How that grieves me!

On the other hand, the interesting part that strikes me as odd is this. All the ten virgins heard that the groom was coming around the corner. When the five foolish virgins found out that their oil ran out, they turned to ask the five wise virgins to share their 'extra oil' with them.

That strikes me right there. How did the five foolish virgins know what they needed to do? They needed their lamps lit so the groom can identify who they are. The five foolish virgins do not have light in their lamps because they did not have 'extra oil'. The five foolish virgins are totally left in the darkness.

Now, the five wise virgin's response to the five foolish virgins is: 'We are sorry and we cannot spare the extra oil with you. If we give it to you, we will not be enough left for us. You must go and buy it at the store.' The five foolish virgins hurried off in search for the store in the middle of night.

Stop there a moment. Why can not the five wise virgins share the extra oil with the five foolish virgins? Let 's go back to the 'character' that I was talking about. Our character is our thoughts and feelings in the dark when no one is looking. The very nature of your decisions and your choices that comes up in the light, is who you are. It is like a pearl produced in the oyster. When it is pried open, the beautiful shape of the pearl come to the light, to please the eyes of the creator. That is like the secret work of Holy Spirit cultvated inside your heart. When the character is opened, the true colors of your character appear.

The whole point is, the foolish virgin cannot copy your character, because you cannot give them your own personal experience with Jesus. Jesus made it impossible for them to get it from you. Your character is like a blueprint. Character is not transferable. It cannot pass on to another person. It is your own individual character. Jesus makes you that way. You will have to tell them to go and ask the Holy Spirit to give it to them, but the 'store' is closed in the middle of the night. There is a time coming when the door to the Holy Spirit will be closed. No one can then get that holy oil from their neighbor.

Character is the only thing that the five wise virgins can carry with them to the groom's wedding. It is hard to believe how very boldly the Groom says to the five foolish virgins knocking at the door, 'I am sorry - I do not know who you are.' It is too then late for them to change when Jesus, the groom, comes.

Let us think about how serious this is. We must get that extra oil NOW!

Edited by PB