A Christian Guidebook: Introduction (5)

“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.” Matthew 25.6-10

Just what we need?
When I was a student in seminary, a fellow student was handing out silver-dollar-sized wooden trinkets, so I thought I should acquire one.

He gave it to me happily—a smooth, brown, round piece of wood, blank on one side.

But the message of this quaint trinket was emblazoned on the other side in bright, bold, gold letters: TUIT.

Think about it.

How many times have you heard yourself say, “I’m going to spend more time with the Lord in prayer and His Word when I can get around to it”?

For the first year I was a Christian, I must have said that hundreds of times. But I was especially quick to say it whenever the guy who led me to Christ, Rick Duwe, caught me on campus for a chat. He’d ask about my time with the Lord. And I’d respond with some version of “I’m going to get around to it.”

One time, Rick having asked me the question again, I answered as per usual. But I made a fatal mistake by adding, “But I really want to spend more time with the Lord.” Rick replied, “No you don’t.” I insisted, “Yes, I do, I really do. What Christian doesn’t want to spend time with the Lord?”

Rick jammed his finger into my sternum and insisted “You don’t.” Then he put his arm around me and said, “T. M., we will do in our lives only and exactly what we want to do, and nothing more. And when you want to spend more time, better time, seeking and knowing the Lord Who died and lives for you, you will.”

Well, that was a turning point for me. I cut my afternoon classes, went back to the dorm, and spent the rest of the day in prayer, reading, and meditation. Thus began a pattern that has continued for over 55 years.

And so?
So if you’re hesitating about spending more time in God’s Word, about seeking Him and His salvation in a deeper and broader manner, and about learning Jesus, running your race, and working your Personal Mission Field, allow me to ask: 

“What are you waiting for?”

One of the saddest passages in all of Scripture is Deuteronomy 1.2-5: “It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by way of Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnea. Now it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel according to all that the LORD had given him as commandments to them, after he had killed Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who dwelt at Ashtaroth in Edrei. On this side of the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this law…” An eleven days’ journey stretched out into forty years.

Just like many of us are doing when it comes to our God-appointed mission and calling. What were they waiting for? Sin blinded them to the glory and proximity of God’s promises. Is the same happening to us? What are we waiting for? Is it time to admit that we really don’t want to spend more time with the Lord in His Word? That we don’t really care if our neighbors are looking for answers? That we’d rather feed on manna in a desert of disobedience than flourish in the promises of God’s Word in a land of milk and honey?

So what about us? What about you?

No time like the present
Only the Word and Spirit of God can change our world. And God has deposited both in us, His people. We have this treasure in earthen vessels, to be sure, but this is only so that, as we run our race and bring the Good News to others, God may get all the glory and we may know His Presence and joy (2 Cor. 4.7).

Those who continue to say, “Oh, I’ll get around to it” where immersing in the Word of God is concerned are like those virgins who failed to bring adequate oil for their lamps. The Spirit of God is stirring in the world. People in every walk of life, disillusioned by the prevailing secular world view, are looking elsewhere for hope and meaning. And many of them are following the advice of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn in his 1978 lecture at Harvard, in which he urged a thoroughly secular crowd to “look up.”

But like the Ethiopian eunuch, they don’t know what they’re looking for or how to attain to it. They need people whose lamps are lit with the oil of God’s Spirit, burning brighter and brighter each day, so bright that others are attracted to them, eager to learn a reason for the hope that is within them (1 Pet. 3.15).

It’s time to deposit a “round TUIT” in our souls and get busy making all things new in the name and power of the Lord.

For reflection
1. How are you responding to the things you’ve read in this introduction to A Christian Guidebook?

2. Which of the two sets of five virgins are you more like in your calling and mission for the Lord? Explain.
 
3. What can keep you from falling into a “forty years in the desert” Christian life?

Next Steps—Conversation: Talk with a fellow believer about what we’ve been explaining in this series. Expressing your views and understanding can help to clarify what you’re learning and firm up your commitment to seek the Lord and His Kingdom.

T. M. Moore

Resources for your race
Many Christians have a “too small” view of what it means to be saved. Two books can help. Such a Great Salvation outlines the broad scope of what we have received through faith in Jesus Christ. Learn more about it and order your copy of the book (click here) or the free PDF (click here). And don’t let the title of this next book fool you. Our salvation is “small” because it takes in everything in our lives, as we point out in our book Small Stuff (click here for the book or here for a free PDF).

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.