Contributed by Abbey Thangiah • Apr 15, 2025
What is your SPF factor?
I would like to take us a step back. Before we can even recognize or respond to Christ as King of our lives, we first need to be always ready. Only when we are alert and ready, can we recognize the blessings and commands of God. Once we recognize Him moving, we are able to respond accordingly. We live in an age where people preach the prosperity gospel and fake miracles to increase church offerings. We must be alert and vigilant and respond accordingly.
The Parable of the Ten Virgins from Matthew 25:1-13 tells of ten virgins awaiting a bridegroom (Christ) for a wedding feast (God’s kingdom). Five wise virgins bring extra oil for their lamps, while five foolish ones do not. When the bridegroom is delayed, they all sleep, but at midnight, his arrival is announced. The foolish virgins, with lamps dying, beg oil from the wise, who refuse, saying there isn’t enough. As the foolish rush to buy oil, the bridegroom comes, and the wise enter the feast. The foolish return to find the door shut, and the bridegroom says, “I do not know you.” Jesus warns, “Watch, for you know neither the day nor the hour,” teaching the urgency of spiritual readiness for His return.
For a long time, this parable has bothered me. If anyone discusses this parable with me, the virgins who went to take the oil shouldn’t be blamed. The wise virgins didn’t even give the excess oil to the “foolish”. Isn’t the wise selfish to begin with? If they shared their excess, maybe all would have met the bridegroom. This is indeed the wrong way to look at this parable.
Now, imagine the Son of God and the Kings of the Kings visiting your town. Jesus was riding on a donkey and people still welcomed him with palm leaves. He had a royal welcome. Jesus appeared in front of the crowd’s eyes and they welcomed Him. They would have recognised Him as they witnessed Him firsthand. Their hearts would have been opened to Him. But, the same people who gave Him a royal welcome fit for a king, are the ones who would crucify Him a few days later.
What happened? Why would you crucify someone you welcomed like a king? Imagine if they did accept Him wholeheartedly, this world would have had a different story.
I remember being in sales of a taurine free energy drink. The structure of the company worked “almost” as a MLM. We would buy cartons of this drink and sell it in restaurants or events on a consignment basis. A few of us would also rent booths in fairs, events and concerts to sell directly to the customer to increase our profit margin. I remember that we rented this booth during a Youth Festival in Putrajaya where a million youth gathered for various activities. Despite the millions of youths and adults, only a person in sales will understand how hard it is to catch customers’ attention and convince them to buy a drink. Like the 10 virgins in the parable, we really have to be ready as we do not know when the customer will arrive. Sometimes, when you are on your break, they come. We have to entertain them regardless of whether they are buying or not. We have to be always ready to tell them about the product, its benefits and the promotions and price of the product (reminds me of the 4Ps of Marketing). If you are foolish and take your breaks or visit another stall because of low traffic, you miss the chance of selling your RM5 drink to the customer. Sometimes we would prepare a cart and pull the trolley to look for customers to increase our sales.
Imagine if we used our readiness in our careers and apply it for His kingdom and glory. To proclaim Him, King and praise His miracles, we must first be ready to recognise and respond accordingly.
How do we get ready? SPF. No fancy definitions here. We have to Surrender ourselves to him regularly, Pray fervently and have Faith knowing that He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. What is your SPF factor? I pray in the final week of Lent, we will continuously increase our SPF for His glory.