Nougat 12

I’ve been thinking about those wind-up flashlights, the kind that emitted light only After being cranked. And when it stopped, we simply would wind it again and it shone brightly. Sometimes that’s how our spiritual lives are. Consider today’s Holy Nougat

“The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps, but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil.” Matthew 25:3-4 NLT

“You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.” Psalms 23:5b NLT

Psalm 23 reminds us that one key symbol of God’s anointing is ‘oil’; especially in the Old Testament. Therefore one might be permitted to assume that the oil referenced in the nougat also reflects the presence of God’s Spirit. What then is the nougat saying to us? It’s worth noting that both sets of females started with oil – not only the wise. Thus, although the parable is about the two sets of women; it’s also all about the oil … God’s Spirit.

We can deduce then that when we start our spiritual journey we are all accorded with the anointing by God’s Spirit. That’s actually ground we covered previously, so it might be easily accepted. In fact, we also noted that while God’s Spirit is the One Who convinces us to accept Jesus Christ as Lord, there’s a special (extra) gifting that may be imputed on us, usually by our asking. I believe that this is the additional oil carried by the wise . If that’s the case, we must ask ourselves, ‘do we carry that anointing?’

The oil of God’s Spirit which conveys spiritual gifts keeps sustaining us time and time again because it’s an anointing that replenishes. It’s an overflow. Thus, both David and Saul sinned during their tenure as monarchs. Eventually, Saul was rejected by God, despite being anointed with the Spirit from time to time. I suspect that he (Saul) allowed jealousy to grow and it overwhelmed the space he’d had for heeding God’s Spirit. Jealousy can be very toxic. Remember Cain in Genesis 4, he ignored God’s Spirit and in yielding to jealousy killed his brother?

We can argue that David’s sin was murder, but his penalty was lighter and God’s wrath didn’t get poured on him as it was on Saul. But, we must factor in the element of confession and repentance. Both men were confronted with their sin. Saul strove to avoid responsibility; but David repented. Right there and then. And he paid dearly – his lineage was marked by rape and bloodshed in the generation that followed him. But Grace came by David’s Faith and steadfast trust in God.

We all know that God’s Spirit doesn’t make us sinless. But, by heeding God’s Spirit we all should sin less. And that’s the merit of the extra oil. It’s building, rather storing treasure that neither sin nor temptation can destroy. It’s that little extra for the journey.

Are we equipped with the little extra of God’s Spirit for our journey?

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May all we seek be found in Christ