The meaning behind this proverb is more than the powerful beast of burden the farmer uses to plow his field. The Lord God is concerned about the field of humans that can be changed to produce much wonderful fruit. (Matthew 3:23)
The reason we don’t produce fruit is that our souls are in need of cleaning and repair and our spirits are dead. Spirits are dead because they are not receiving nutrition from the Son of God, Jesus. Jesus taught his disciples, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
Workers are needed to spread the message of Jesus. His words need to be planted into others’ souls. Workers are also needed to help people grow in Christ and mature. No sapling will produce seeds. It must grow and mature with much sunlight, water, and nutrition. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.” (1 Corinthians 3:6-9)
So as Jesus stated, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Luke 10:2) “Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but from the strength of an ox comes an abundant harvest.” Am I an ox or a sapling?
