Field

Matthew 13:44

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field.  When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

John 4:35

…I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields!  They are ripe for harvest.

I love living in the country.  As a child I had the privilege of going every weekend to Grand Rivers, Ky. to see my grandparents.  They owned a lot of land that backed up to Barkley Dam…with lots of woods and fields to play in.  I have precious memories of those times.  Fast forward many years to when my own kids were young.  We had the joy of living in Oblong, Il. for almost 10 of those growing up years and we have many wonderful memories of those years.  We were able to buy a house in the country that had 5 acres and once again…lots of fields.

Fields can have many things in them…horses, grass, cows, flowers, weeds, buildings, fruit trees, vegetables and trails.  But, when my children were small…the most beautiful sight to me was watching them in the field.  Watching my children playing, laughing, skipping, running and just being…in the field.

In the Matthew passage we are told that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that is hidden in a field.  A man finds the treasure, buries it and then goes, sells everything he has and buys the field…not the treasure.  The field is where the treasure is.   The field held what was so very important to him.  Where are our fields?  What treasures do they hold?  I can look right outside my windows in my home and see fields in every direction.  Yards with houses in them…filled with women, men, children and families.  Some possess the treasure of the Kingdom of Heaven in their fields…some do not.  It is my responsibility to take a look at the fields around me and find the treasure that is in them.

Jesus says that the fields are ripe for harvest.  That means that the field we have in our lives each day…there is a harvest there…fruit that has been planted, watered and has grown to the point of being picked.  People that are ready to hear and receive what Jesus has for them.  We may not know they are ready at that moment…we may just get the honor of walking the field with them…but in that moment they are the treasure in our field.

Rick was so good at finding the field and seeing the treasure there.  Wherever he went…whatever field was placed before him…he most always recognized that a treasure was right in front of him.  I can still see him in my mind at the store, downtown at the Courthouse, at Church, the hospital, doctors office, school, Ukraine, ball field, friend’s homes or our home.  Always giving his attention to the treasure in the field of that moment.  Recognizing that God had placed him in that field…looking at the treasure in the eye…listening to the treasure and loving the treasure.  He did it well…

We have beautiful fields before us every day.  The treasures that are in those fields are what moves the heart of God.  And that is exactly what should move us…finding the treasure in the field…giving that treasure what they need more than anything…the love of God.

Sending much love,

Debbie

This entry was written on April 19, 2010 at 11:50 pm