Amazing Bamboo

“All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass.” [1.Peter 1:24]

Did you know a member of the grass family is considered to be the fastest-growing plant in the world? It is a member of the true grass family known as Poaceae (po-se-i), also known as Bambuseae. Better known as bamboo, these tall stalks are actually the largest members of the grass family. In the warmer climates of Asia they are capable of growing as much as 39 inches per day! How would you like to keep that grass mowed? Bamboo grows so fast that, if you stand in one of these bamboo forests on a sunny day, you can actually hear the plants growing. Some plants grow 98 feet tall.

Bamboo has economic and cultural significance to South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia. There are around 1,500 different species of bamboo in the world that come in several different colors – such as black, green, gold, gray, red, yellow, and powder blue. The bamboo plant is also extremely versatile with an extraordinary range of uses, and can be made into many things like baskets, bicycle frames, bird cages, blinds, boats, bridges, brushes, buckets, canoes, carts, charcoal, chopsticks, clothing, cooking utensils, diapers, fans, fences, firewood, fishing rods, food steamers, furniture, garden tools, handicrafts, hats, incense, musical instruments, paper, particle board, pens, pipes, roofing, scaffold, tableware, toilets, toothpicks, toys, umbrellas, and walking sticks! In fact, during WWII in the South Pacific, the U.S. Navy even used bamboo to reinforce concrete. That is pretty incredible when you remember that bamboo is just gigantic grass.

When the apostle Peter compared mankind with the Bible, he used grass as an illustration. “All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever” (1.Peter 1:24,25). The glory of man’s accomplishments fades into insignificance when compared with God’s glory. Our corruptible works will someday disappear, but the incorruptible fruit of God’s Word will grow and last for eternity. That’s a lot longer than the lifetime of bamboo.