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Wise Virgins;
Our Innocence
The very thought of ourselves being innocent might
make us laugh, at least to ourselves. How long has it been since I was
innocent? That’s exactly what happened to me when a dear friend referred to me
using the term innocent.
Your innocence may have been taken from you at a very
young age, or because of a promiscuous youth you may have given away your
innocence. But, how does that reflect on you now?
Not long ago I confronted these thoughts without
warning. When my friend called me innocent, in my mind I instantly roared with
laughter, mocking myself with split second thoughts like, “You don’t know me
very well, do you? Ha! Me? Innocent? Not in a very long time! You should know
the things I’ve done!” But in the very same moment I mocked myself, I heard God
speak to me quietly saying, “Are you not my child? Are you not washed with the
Blood of the Lamb?” As I drew in a breath of shock, I lowered my head and
whispered back, “Yes.” He finished, “Then you are innocent. Now.” I had to push back tears
of joy as an overwhelming shock of reality set in. After my friend and I
finished talking, I walked away to ponder what God Himself had just spoken to
me.
Can you relate to what a reality check that was? I
don’t know that I had ever thought of myself as innocent. Children don’t walk
around acknowledging that they are innocent. And by the time mine was
lost, my mature adult brain saw it as lost for good. Boy, was I wrong! I am
innocent now! Not because I’m a particularly good person, but because my sins
have been washed away by the Blood of the Lamb. It’s a simple truth we all know
- but I wasn’t walking in my innocence. I was continuing to walk as one who had
been handed a guilty decree, just like the enemy of our soul wanted me to.
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The lies of the enemy are subtle, and he’s rehearsed
them a thousand times before he whispers them in our ears. And, we listen. And,
we believe him. Without even checking out what God has to say about it, we
believe the lies of the enemy, and we suffer because of it. We go without,
because we aren’t walking in the Truth.
Revelation 12:10 And I heard a loud voice saying in
heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and
the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which
accused them before our God day and night. 11 And they overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb, and by the word of
their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
After we have been washed clean, reborn, made innocent
by the Blood of the Lamb, we need to tell somebody, often; that would be the
word of our testimony.
Determine some of the differences between the five
wise virgins and the five foolish virgins Matthew talks about in chapter 25. Into
which group do we fall?
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten
virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And
five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took
their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels
with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And
at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to
meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish
said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the
wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go
ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to
buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage:
and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord,
Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you
not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son
of man cometh. –Matthew 25:1-13
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It appears that the only thing that made the foolish virgins
foolish, was that they didn’t take any extra oil with them. The wise virgins
had oil enough to burn their lamps, even after waiting on the bridegroom for so
long a time that the lamps of the foolish virgins had gone out. Both virgins
knew about the coming of the bridegroom, both were waiting for his call; it
even appears that they were waiting together.
Relating this parable to our lives, the oil for
the lamps has been said to represent the Holy Spirit; oil in other places in
the Bible represents the Holy Spirit. But, the oil has also been said to
represent the personal relationship between the bride and her bridegroom, or
her faith, or even her works. The bottom line it represents is readiness; readiness
for the return of the bridegroom. Are we ready for Christ’s return?
There are many who consider themselves Christians who
won’t be taken in the rapture; they have not been washed in the Blood of the
Lamb. They are not watching, as we are told to do. Christ will say to them,
“Depart from me, I knew you not.” (Matthew 25:13 above)
Could the oil represent their innocence? Whether or
not they had indeed been washed in the Blood of the Lamb? The foolish virgins
weren’t realistic about how long their oil would last and they were not ready
when it was time to go. Were the foolish virgins living in the reality of
salvation through Jesus Christ? Or were they just living under the title
‘Christian’ which many do, even though they have not accepted Jesus as their
Lord and Savior. Are we living in the reality of our salvation
through Jesus Christ? If we call ourselves Christians, we are either one of the
wise virgins, or one of the foolish. We are either washed in the Blood of the
Lamb, or not. We are innocent, or we are not. How do we know?
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Ask yourself if you are among the innocent. Are you
innocent, but didn’t dare to call yourself innocent? Can you say it aloud? Is
that being arrogant or proud? Or is it simply the word of your testimony?
Can you look around at your Christian friends and see
their innocence?
To be wise, to be ready, ask Jesus into your heart,
making Him your Lord and Savior, tell someone, and watch for His soon return.
Jesus doesn’t expect you to clean yourself up and then come to Him, He takes you just as you are right now.
