We are busy people.  As we look out to the new year, there are going to be many opportunities that present themselves, but with that, stuff happens that cause delays.  Sometimes we struggle with knowing which opportunities we should seize and where to place our priorities.  In that list of priorities, where have we placed our devotional life?

            In Jesus’ parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13), five of the virgins realized that they didn’t have enough oil to last until the bridegroom arrived.  They hadn’t thought much about their situation, but now it became their top priority.  All ten virgins were carrying lamps, which indicate a relationship with the Lord.  The five foolish ones, however, failed to understand that they needed oil to keep their lamps burning. Did they think that the oil they had would last forever?

            Today many Christians believe that they can have a one-time experience with Jesus that will be enough to keep their light burning. That’s about the same as me thinking that I can buy an oil lamp and a quart of oil and assume it’ll keep burning for the rest of my life.  That’s foolish reasoning.  The fire of God in our life will continue to burn only if it has enough “oil” to do so.  Providing that oil daily is our own responsibility.

Jesus told us that we are the light of the world and that we should not hide that light under a bowl, but to let it shine.  We often focus on the “shining” aspect but forget how it is that we keep it shining.  Jesus talked about lighting a lamp. In order to do that we need to have oil in the lamp and need to keep refilling it, because when the oil is gone, the flame will die. How can we make sure that we don’t run out of oil?

Time spent in prayer and Bible reading is an essential part of keeping our spiritual life strong and bright.  These two things provide the essential fuel for our lamps and will help make sure that our light does not burn dim and eventually go out.  Let’s make our own personal prayer and Bible study time a priority this year to keep our light shining for Jesus.  With no light, we are useless to Him…and that’s just sad.  Someday the Bridegroom will come, and those who don’t have oil for their lamps will be unprepared for the wedding ceremony.