Can the Rush Grow Up Without Mire?
"Can the rush grow up without mire? can the flag grow without water? (12) Whilst it is yet in
his greenness, and not cut down, it withereth before any other herb. (13) So are the paths of
all that forget God; and the hypocrite's hope shall perish. (14) Whose hope shall be cut off, and
whose trust shall be a spider's web. (15) He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: he
shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure. (16) He is green before the sun, and his branch
shooteth forth in his garden. (17) His roots are wrapped about the heap, and seeth the place
of stones." Job 8:11-17
The rush is spongy and hollow, and even so is a hypocrite; there is no substance or stability in
him. It is shaken to and fro in every wind just as formalists yield to every influence; for this
reason the rush is not broken by the tempest, neither are hypocrites troubled with
persecution.
The rush by nature lives in water, and owes its very existence to the mire and moisture
wherein it has taken root; let the mire become dry, and the rush withers very quickly. Its
greenness is absolutely dependent upon circumstances, a present abundance of water makes
it flourish, and a drought destroys it at once.
Is this my case? Do I only serve God when I am in good company, or when religion is
profitable and respectable? Do I love the Lord only when temporal comforts are received from
His hands? If so I am a base hypocrite, and like the withering rush, I shall perish when death
deprives me of outward joys. But can I honestly assert that when bodily comforts have been
few, and my surroundings have been rather adverse to grace than at all helpful to it, I have
still held fast my integrity? Then have I hope that there is genuine vital godliness in me.
The rush cannot grow without mire, but plants of the Lord's right hand planting can and do
flourish even in the year of drought. A godly man often grows best when his worldly
circumstances decay. He who follows Christ for his bag is a Judas; they who follow for loaves
and fishes are children of the devil; but they who attend Him out of love to Himself are His
own beloved ones.
Lord, let me find my life in Thee, and not in the mire of this world's favour or gain.
The Juncaceae, the rush family, is a rather
small monocot flowering plant family.
There are 8 genera and about 400 species.
Many of these slow-growing plants superficially resemble grasses, though are herbs or woody shrubs, growing on infertile soils.
The Rush Family
Juncus balticus
Baltic Rush
Growing next to a seasonal frog pond on the north slope of Green Valley.
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