I’m a little giddy as I begin writing about Wisdom. In some way that seems paradoxical because I imagine wisdom as stately, grounded, serious. And, well, giddy doesn’t seem to belong in that group of images. Maybe it’s a daughter-like awe of her Father in me: knowing that in all his holiness and sovereignty, God loves to be with me. In Knowing God, J.I. Packer suggests that God’s wisdom does not abandon his first purpose…to bring us to a place where he is our all in all.
As I recently read this parable, I was struck by the one difference in the list of commonalities between these ten ladies. Oil. Of all the things, oil. It wasn’t enough to be a virgin. It wasn’t enough to be waiting. It wasn’t enough to have lamps. It wasn’t enough to hear the cry of the Bridegroom. It came down to having oil for their lamps. Not only did these five wise maidens have oil for their lamps, they did not give it away. Even further, they instructed the other five maidens to go buy their own oil.
Brave Sparrow 