There’s something about looking out on vast expanses of farm land or fields. Here’s a drawing that I did using dry pastels of a field, which then reminded me of Sting’s beautiful song, Fields of Gold (1993)…

Apparently, for songwriter Sting, “fields of gold” are about remembering, cherished relationships, love that engenders forgetfulness, a place where the “west wind moves like a lover so upon fields of barley,” the seemingly endless passing of time, and burgeoning hope in days to come.

Outside of Sting’s Fields of Gold, however, fields in a sense could also signify hope for all humanity and creation. In practice, the farmer plants a crop and awaits the sprouting of shoots, which carefully pruned and watered over a period of time will hopefully produce a bountiful harvest.

The question is, will the crop respond to the seasons and yield the kind of harvest that the farmer eagerly anticipates? Or, would it be the sort of crop that is better cast aside and burned; a crop that does not respond in the way it should despite the good manure, timely rain, and heartfelt prayers?

The pastel drawing I made of a field reminded me of Sting’s song, Fields of Gold (1993), which in turn prompted me to reflect on the idea of a field. Interestingly, the Bible refers to the people whom God cares for and nurtures as “God’s field”–those who rely upon and respond to God who provides everything they need to flourish in the world according to God’s purposes.

What might the above mean however for us today, except that we, God’s field, collectively and decidedly humble ourselves before God and pray that we will be the sort of field that responds to God’s touch.

Let us pray that we might fulfil God’s expectations rather than fabricate and fulfil our own expectations be it religious, political, or social; and that we might inspire lasting hope in one another and leave a legacy for the generations to come of a people who despite all odds were faithful and loving and true to their planting as God’s field.

You are God’s field, God’s building. 

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version, 1 Co 3:9.

Something to think about: Where has God planted you? How do you see yourself as responding to the nurture and care of a loving God?

What might your vision of God’s field be? Do you have an image or song or prose/poem or craft to share that would capture that vision? Here are some of mine: one dry pastel drawing with a few different filters. (Don’t you love those filters on the free Photo Shop Express app?).

Lyrics for Sting’s song, Fields of Gold

You'll remember me when the west wind moves upon the fields of barley
You'll forget the sun in his jealous sky as we walk in fields of gold
So she took her love for to gaze awhile upon the fields of barley
In his arms she fell as her hair came down among the fields of goldWill you stay with me, will you be my love among the fields of barley?
We'll forget the sun in his jealous sky as we lie in fields of gold
See the west wind move like a lover so upon the fields of barley.
Feel her body rise when you kiss her mouth among the fields of goldI never made promises lightly and there have been some that I've broken
But I swear in the days still left we'll walk in fields of gold
We'll walk in fields of gold
Many years have passed since those summer days among the fields of barley
See the children run as the sun goes down among the fields of gold
You'll remember me when the west wind moves upon the fields of barley
You can tell the sun in his jealous sky when we walked in fields of gold
When we walked in fields of gold, when we walked in fields of goldSource: 
LyricFindSongwriters: Gordon Sumner / Dusan BogdanovicFields Of Gold lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC