The Midnight Cry
The Midnight Cry
6 “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom [a]is coming; go out to meet him!’ 7 Then all those virgins arose 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, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’
Matthew 25:6-9
Last week we saw Jesus, the bridegroom delayed, and the ten virgins asleep while they waited. But then a midnight cry is heard. Adventists know these words, Midnight Cry, all too well as we love to use is to describe our unique message to the world. Midnight is the darkest time of day and the least likely time for a bridegroom to arrive at a wedding. Think about what that can mean in reality. How will Jesus come when we least expect it?
Suddenly the virgins awake and begin to get ready. Here is where we see the wisdom of the five virgins who brought extra oil. It’s important to see that what we’re talking about here is extra oil, which represents the Holy Spirit. The foolish clearly say that their lamps are going out which means they had some oil in their lamps. They only put in enough as to what they believed they needed. They did the very minimum and only accepted the very minimum of the Holy Spirit in their lives. So clearly all ten virgins, both wise and foolish, are Christians and believers. Don’t be fooled into thinking the wise are believers and the foolish worldly people, no. Jesus is talking to the church here are saying that two groups within the church will exist at the end of time. There will be those who gain as much oil, Holy Spirit, as they can. They are not part-time Christians or only Christians on Sabbath. They try and build as close a relationship with God, through the Holy Spirit as their life allows. The others, the foolish, are those who believe and even accept the Holy Spirit but not completely. They only do enough as to what they believe will be enough to be saved. These are they that say, ‘I’m good enough.’ or ‘I’ve done enough’ or ‘I’m better than most’ or even ‘God will just look past these parts of my life.’
All of these thoughts are dangerous and foolish. Only God knows how much you need of Him to be ready for the Second Coming. It’s a dangerous game to create your own limits on faith and the Holy Spirit.
God bless,
Pr. Steven Couto