The Perfect Field

           Allow me to paint you a picture.  Imagine…  You’re lying in a field.  You’re back is pressed against the soft green grass.  In the light blue sky above, the clouds are white and fluffy, floating effortlessly across the horizon.  There’s a gentle wind blowing across the field, making you feel refreshed and tranquil.  It’s completely silent, nothing around you is moving; you’re not moving.  You’re just breathing, slowly, in and out… in and out.  

But wait, what’s that?  Something is making your right arm itch.  How annoying.  All you want to do is to relax in this field, just relax.  Wanting to remove the itch and get back to the lovely day, you reach over with your left hand and give the itch a good scratch.  Ahhh, at last, the itch is gone and you achieve your total peace and serenity again.  But, a few minutes later, the itch is back.  You reach over again with your left hand a squelch it, knowing exactly where it is and how to get rid of it.  Reaching harmony again, you go back to feeling the gentle breeze in the perfect field of lush green grass.

A little time goes by and you begin to feel the same itch again but in a different place.  You sit up, frustrated and upset.  You shout, “Why won’t you just leave me alone!  I just want to be happy; I just want to be at peace.”

Do you ever get an itch?  Does something ever make you frustrated?  Does someone ever disturb your peace?  I know that I am always itching.  Someone or something is always nagging at my mental utopia.  Whether that ‘something’ is me wanting to talk behind someone’s back or thinking mean thoughts about someone, itches can be very harmful if scratched.  This itch is sin.  The cause of this itch is the devil. 

Lying in the perfect field, we need to learn to ignore the itch.  We need to trust that God is going to remove this itch for us, helping us battle against the urge to scratch, helping us battle against the urge to give into sin and temptation.  And while scratching the itch provides a temporary relief, it is a false peace, a false sense of happiness.  It is a peace brought about by sin, a peace that will never last.  However, if we put our faith in the Lord, if we let him lead us and sooth our itches, we will find eternal peace through Him in heaven.  We all need to remember this.  I need to remember this.  Amen.