Do you remember the poppy field in The Wizard of Oz? The Wicked Witch of the West needed a trap for Dorothy. She wanted something that was “attractive to the eye, and soothing to the smell,” but “with poison in it.”
The witch’s goal was to put Dorothy to sleep so she could steal her ruby red slippers. And once asleep, she would never wake up.
When Dorothy saw the poppy field, it was a beautiful sight. She had just come out of the dark, haunted forest, where the evils were obvious. And she completely let her guard down in the fragrant splendor of the poppies. She was on a vital mission to the Emerald City, but soon forgot all about it. Soon all she wanted to do was just lie down and go to sleep.
Now let me ask you – are you asleep among the poppies? What is your personal poppy field? Only you can answer that question, but I’ll give you some things to look for.
The poppy field is beautiful. It’s not a dark place. Why, it’s a wonderful place! It’s so bright and cheery, and it makes you feel so good. And the aroma, it’s so relaxing.
The poppy field is something nice in your life, but it’s something that puts you to sleep spiritually. You may not even realize it, but this nice thing has caused your spiritual life to stall. You reached a certain plateau in your Christian growth, and there you have stayed.
And what about God’s mission? Well in the poppy field such missions sort of fade away. Why be so intense and gung-ho? I’m out of the dark forest. Why can’t I just relax here in this nice poppy field?
That’s what happened to the church in Sardis. They started out strong, but then stalled out. And look what Jesus told them in Revelation 3, “You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.”
Does that apply to you and me? Sure, people know us as Christians. We have a good, Christian reputation. But are we spiritually alive and growing?
In our Christian walk, we reach plateaus. And each plateau has its poppy field. Like I said, the poppy field is something nice in your life that puts you to sleep spiritually. What might it be?
Now let me say, it’s tricky to identify poppy fields in our lives. Let me give you an example. Let’s say you are growing in the Lord and seeking His will for your life. At some point you feel called to further your education. So you step out in obedience and go back to school. At that point, school is not a poppy field. Quite the opposite. It is not hindering your spiritual growth. It is part of your spiritual growth.
But then let’s say you really get into it. You love going to classes and learning, and the whole education thing really grows on you. So you finally graduate, and then what? Instead of going back to the Lord and praying, “I felt led to get an education. I’ve got it. Now what?” Instead of doing that, you decide to get a more advanced degree. Not because God is calling you to do it, but just because it’s a nice thing to do and you want to.
At that point school sounds like a poppy field. It’s something nice in your life, but it’s putting you to sleep spiritually.
So is there a poppy field in your life? Maybe it’s your job. Maybe it’s your social circle. And you know what? Maybe it’s your church.
What did Jesus say to the sleepers in Sardis? “Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God.” The problem was, their deeds were not complete. They had started their mission well enough, but then…what?
I ask myself, “Is this me, today? Have I fallen asleep spiritually, or am I still growing, still relentlessly pursuing my Lord?” And my prayer is, “Lord, please wake me up and open my eyes. Please show me any area in my life where I might have fallen asleep among the poppies.”
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May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
This article originally published on November 20, 2007.
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Do you remember the poppy field in The Wizard of Oz? The Wicked Witch of the West needed a trap for Dorothy. She wanted something that was “attractive to the eye, and soothing to the smell,” but “with poison in it.”
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