Survivalists in the Bend

Mother and I thank profusely the IEC linemen and the entire IEC team that worked so diligently to restore power when a large number of their IEC customers were without. My sister offered us their fully furnished guest room. When Mother declined, Angie categorized us as "survivalists." I was leaning toward accepting the brief respite at Angie and Ben's home, but I couldn't leave my 96-year-old mother in the dark!

                As with many of our electrical cooperative's customers, Mother and I lost power mid-afternoon on Tuesday. Soon I headed out to put a bale in the bale ring for our small cattle herd.

                Upon returning to the dark house, I opened the door, calling out “Hello???  Are you here?” while taking off my boots and work clothes. I heard a weak, little voice from the north bedroom. Just hearing that, struck a bit of fear in me. Had Mother gone in the room and fallen? There was no good path for her walker in that room.

                Soon I learned she was searching for a kerosene lamp. My heart sunk. I hadn’t seen that in ages or at least around seven to eight years. It might be in the cellar.

                After a brief exchange about how I had no idea where that lamp might be, the reality struck of the importance of finding her emergency lamp. She said emphatically, “I need light to be able to read.”

                That statement from a 96-year-old brought clarity into my thoughts. I breathed a prayer, Lord, IF that kerosene lamp is in the house, help me to find it.

                I moved quickly to the north bedroom’s large, enclosed storage area that Grandpa Calvin had built for my maternal grandma. My memory recalled the location of items on most of the shelves. However, the items stored in the lowest section were unclear in my memory. Upon pulling out a couple of items, I spotted the globe setting next to the kerosene lamp itself! Pulling it carefully from its safe place, I carried it and placed it on bed in her bedroom where she was cleaning. We could have celebrated, but we had no kerosene.

The Old Kerosene Lamp - a bit dusty but found

                Immediately, as I snapped a photo of the globe and the bottom of the kerosene lamp, I thought of the parable of Jesus about the wise and foolish bridesmaids from Matthew 25:1-13. He compared His coming for the believers or the true church to a groom coming for the marriage to his beloved bride. Five of the bridesmaids had their lamps trimmed and ready. Unfortunately, the other five, dubbed foolish, had neglected to obtain the essential for their lamps – oil. When the groom swept into the wedding venue, the foolish bridesmaids had left to secure the necessary oil for their lamps. To their detriment, the young women failed to prepare for this once-in-a-lifetime event. As the cultural mores of that time dictated, upon the arrival of the groom, the door of the wedding venue immediately closed to any further entrants. The celebrants must have made provision to be inside the wedding venue. For whatever reason, the five foolish bridesmaids failed to be prepared and were left on the outside of the marriage celebration.

                The scripture often symbolizes the Holy Spirit as oil. The Apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 1;13 – In Him (Jesus) you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in who also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.

                The foolish bridesmaids made no preparation for the arrival of the groom. Jesus represents the groom in the parable He told. Romans 8:9 succinctly supports this mandate for preparation, But you are not in the flesh but in Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

                Mother and I survived the 50+ hours of the outage even though we had no kerosene for the old lamp. However, when Christ returns, we must be assured we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us because we have received Jesus. The new life He gives raises us from the deadness of our sin. His Spirit empowers us to have a relationship with Him, having our sins cleansed and being made new. There is no reason for anyone to be unprepared.