There is even a story about oil in the New Testament. It is a parable told by Jesus and is known the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins:
“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 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.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.
Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.” Matthew 25:1-13
This parable has obvious implications for all of us – when Jesus comes (or when our time is up on earth and it is time to stand before the Lord in heaven), we better be SPIRITUALLY READY – spiritually clean by repenting of our sins, forgiving others, and walking with our Lord on a daily basis. If we are not, if we are like the Laodiceans described in Revelation 3, who are comfortable in the world and enjoying its pleasures, but LUKEWARM toward Christ – our heavenly bridegroom, then He will vomit us out of His mouth. He will have no part of us, and we will have no part in Him. And the door to eternity in heaven will be closed to us.
There is another dimension of this parable that relates to us. What is the oil that we are to have in our lamps? The oil would be the peace, joy, and love of God that dwells within us. But we can only get that oil by spending time with our Lord in His Word, repenting of our sins, forgiving others, and seeking His will for our lives, which includes meeting the divine appointments He has for us each day.
We need to go to the Holy Spirit and say: “Fill ‘er up and check the oil”. And when we are filled with the oil (the anointing) of the Holy Spirit, we need to light it on fire, so we can be on fire for the Lord, like the apostles after Pentecost, or Moses when he came down off the mountain.
If we don’t take time to spend with our Lord each day, our lamps might be full of worldly stuff, but they will not shine with the light of Christ, and we will have nothing supernatural – the peace, love, and joy of the Lord – to share with others. And then when we are called upon to share this light with others, we will be unable to do so. We will have failed to respond to His calling on our lives.
None of us know when our Lord is coming back for us, nor do we know when our time is up here on earth. But we do know that He is coming, and that one day our time here is up. So let us fill our lamps with oil from the Holy Spirit and share the light of Christ with all who come across our path, for time is short, eternity is forever, and we are not guaranteed tomorrow.
To God be the glory