The Bamboo Connection

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” – 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 Over the last few days, I have been sharing the resilience of bamboo and how its strength, when cut down, causes it to grow and spread everywhere. After Hiroshima was bombed at the end of the Second World War, most everything was destroyed. The atomic bomb killed every person, every child, every baby, every plant, every insect, and every animal in its path. Do you know what the first thing to grow back in Hiroshima was? The first thing to turn green and sprout? I’ll bet you can guess. Can anyone say bamboo? What’s the metaphorical opposite of bamboo? Perhaps it’s weeds. Though a weed may appear similar to a beautiful flower or a thriving plant, it remains just a weed—ultimately lifeless.