
The Papyrus Man
In the biblical times, a man named Job was going through very difficult times in his life. He had just lost everything he owned, including his children. Then Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, three friends of Job, decided to visit their grieving friend to sympathize with him. Whilst at Job’s place, Bildad made the following observation recorded in Job 8: 11-13 "Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Can reeds flourish where there is no water? While yet in flower and not cut down, they wither before any other plant. Such are the paths of all who forget God; the hope of the godless shall perish."

In that verse Bildad posed the following questions. Can a papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh? And can reeds thrive without water? He went on to answer these questions by saying that, the papyrus and the reed will definitely wither without water. Then he exposed that the fate of the papyrus and the reed without water is comparable to the destiny of them that forget God. Bildad's’ observation still stand tall today, where we have two groups of people, the papyrus and reed men, and the grass kind of men, grass may represent any other plant. A quick study shows us that papyrus and reed are very fragile plants or bushes that remain in water or in a marshy condition constantly to continue growing and to remain fresh, which compares to a person who decides to live in the Will and the Way of God and surely finds fruitfulness and fulfillment. Unlike grass which can survive a little longer without water, the papyrus and the reed, both of which are very tender plants in comparison to grass cannot survive at all where there is no water.

The grass type of men is the group who try to do it without God. Such is the life of a man who hopes or tries to survive on earth without God. They hustle to make it look as if all is going well with them without God then suddenly the grass begins to wither and die off because of one necessity water.