The Oil Press

“But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:” (Mark 10:38-39). There are times that we must drink from the cup from which Jesus drank, and be baptized with the baptism with which Jesus was baptized, and to take our turn under the oil press of Gethsemane. Not drink or be immersed as deeply as the Savior, to be sure, but quite deeply enough for our own comfort, even more than we may believe ourselves able to bear. We may with confusion and dismay cry out in pain and fear and loneliness, pleading to know why the Lord requires us to suffer so. An olive squeezed under the oil press may not understand to what possible gain is the unrelenting weight and pressure applied to it, and we may just as utterly fail to comprehend how the tragedies heaped upon us can come to any good at all. “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14) There is no other way to say that such senseless anguish is anything but foolishness. Every thought and feeling of our heart rebels against trusting that God has some higher purpose yet for all of our sorrows. Though the cup from which Jesus drank be held to our lips, yet we clench them tight and refuse to drink. Though we be brought to the waters of baptism with which Jesus was baptized, yet we thrash and flail and refuse to immerse ourselves in the depths. Though we be taken like olives to the oil press, yet we do not suffer the weight of the press to be lowered upon us. It is foolishness to us. There can be no justification, no future weight of glory that can compensate for our present burden of tribulations. If this is the price for wisdom then it is too high to pay. This was the conclusion arrived at by the five foolish virgins. When the five foolish virgins asked to have some of the oil from the wise virgins, what could the wise virgins say? Drop by drop they had collected their precious oil by subjecting themselves to the terrifying burden of the olive press, submitting humbly and courageously time and time again to all that the Father saw fit to inflict upon them, not knowing why but trusting anyway, holding dearer than their present suffering the promise of future oil that would give them the light to see and understand and to spiritually discern the wisdom and purpose of their trials. It is no small thing to enter the oil press of adversity and affliction, but there is no other way to collect the oil than to pay the price. And if we wish to have sufficient oil to keep our lamps always burning bright, than we must regularly and as deeply as we may drink from the cup from which Jesus drank, and be baptized with the baptism with which Jesus was baptized, and to cast ourselves into the same oil press at Gethsemane into which Jesus cast Himself. Those of us who are brave enough to make the attempt, and humble enough to patiently endure it as long as we must, will find it just as impossible as the wise virgins to give away even the tiniest drop, though we might yet share as much of the light from our lamps as the others might receive. I know that on the far side of the oil press lies oil and light and understanding, and in the bright glow of that understanding, we will count it no small thing to have followed our Savior even into the oil press, and we will rejoice in the opportunity to have become more intimately acquainted with Him than we could in any other way.