The Parable of the Ten Virgins

This week on Cultivate, Charlie and Abigail work through the Parable of the Ten Virgins in Matthew 25 — and Abigail's initial read of the story was completely wrong in the most entertaining way possible. Ten bridesmaids are waiting for the bridegroom to arrive so the wedding party can begin. Five bring extra oil for their lamps. Five don't. The bridegroom is delayed — they all fall asleep waiting. When he finally shows up at midnight, five of them are ready and five aren't. The five who ran out of oil go to buy more. By the time they get back, the doors are shut. Lord, Lord, open the door for us. His reply: I don't know you. Charlie and Abigail dig into what the oil actually represents, why everyone falling asleep doesn't disqualify you, what separates nominal belief from genuine faith, and why this parable is specifically not about works-based theology. They also get into what a bomb under a chair has to do with belief, why "Christian adjacent" isn't enough, and how this parable connects directly to the Parable of the Talents that follows it. They're two episodes from wrapping the entire parables series — and Charlie teases a finale episode where Abigail comes in with actual questions. Plus: Toy Story should have ended at 3, Tom Hanks' brother does all the toy and video game voicework for Woody, and Pixar bloopers were genuinely iconic.