No Entitlement in the Kingdom

“The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.”

Matthew 25:8

Once I stopped to buy gasoline at a convenience store. I went in to prepay, and as I started back out to the car there was a truck at the pump on the other side. He was stretching the hose around the pump and was filling his tank with the gas that I had just paid for. We got it all worked out, but it reminded me of the story in today’s text.

Jesus told of wise and foolish maidens. Five were wise because they had taken enough oil in their lamps when they went out to meet the bridegroom. The others were foolish because they thought that they could get by on someone else’s oil. Their lives ended in darkness, while the prepared ones were in the joy of everlasting light.

Some might think that the ones who carried the extra oil should have been more compassionate. The fact is that there was enough oil for the foolish ones; they just didn’t want to be bothered with it. It is also foolish to leave God out of our living and then expect His blessings.

Consider that faith is like gasoline for life’s journey, you cannot siphon someone else’s faith. A person may be from the godliest family in town, yet their faith cannot save that person. Each one of us are offered, as a gift, all the faith that we need to travel life’s pathway. It is a foolish thing to ignore it. The day always comes when we need it in ways that we never imagined.

There is no such thing as entitlement in the Kingdom of God, but there is grace overflowing. Like a deer that has come upon a spring of water in a dry and thirsty land; all that is required is that we believe, humble ourselves, and drink freely. Still, some think that God requires too much.

The song says, “There is a river, and it flows from deep within
There is a fountain, that frees the soul from sin
Come to this water; there is a vast supply
There is a river, that never shall run dry.”

Grace and Peace, Rev Ray