The venom of the dragon’s fruit is slowly shutting down Sleeping Beauty’s nervous system. Her senses are impaired or non-existent. There seems to be a reception problem—a disconnect—between her Head (Jesus) and the rest of her body (you and me). The peaceful sleep she has enjoyed for so long has become a smothering coma, systematically shutting down the critical systems needed to maintain the life of her body. There is a sense of urgency now, as we watch the Doctor work in His attempt to resuscitate His Bride.

We have lost our sense of passion for Jesus—our love for the Lover of our souls. This fiery love is much like the oil lamps of the first century. It must be filled in a consistent manner and trimmed with a careful touch or it will go out. It is our responsibility to mind the flame of that love. Without the flame, we are empty, devoid of the very source of life. All that’s left is you and me—little clay pots without anything to do. Without that passion-filled romance with Jesus, we, as the Church, have no purpose for existing.

The tragedy of this scene is that we have, through laziness, allowed our oil to run out, or through unconcern allowed the oil to dry up, or through stupidity thought we could fill that void in our spirit with another brand of oil. The result is passionless churches filled with passionless people, participating in passionless programs, listening to passionless preachers, proclaiming a pointless gospel. Can you not feel the Prince of glory shaking His slumbering Bride or hear Him urgently crying out, “You have lost your first love.”

If not, then perhaps we are doomed to share the fate of the five foolish virgins of Matthew 25. While awaiting the joyful return of their bridegroom, they too became drowsy and nodded off. The shout went up, the betrothed arrived, the wedding ensued, the feast was joined, and the foolish virgins were left wandering around in the dark looking for love in all the wrong places.

By the way, these virgins are called “foolish” for a reason. The Holy Spirit chose this particular word to communicate a simple truth. That Greek word is “moron.” Yes, its meaning and pronunciation is the same in English as well. It is moronic—beyond stupid—to think that you or I can exist for very long in this passionless state—the beloved of God unwilling to love our Beloved.