It was Tuesday night, August 21st, 2007, and I was sitting in Chicago’s Midway Airport anxiously awaiting my flight to Dallas, TX, to spend quality time with my mother and brother.  While attempting to zone out while listening to the soothing sounds of Brad Paisley on my iPod, I was truly blessed with the opportunity to experience a revelation.

There was a young Indian girl who, despite being amidst hundreds of business men and women, was having the time of her life, right there in Concourse B.  With her little pink backpack in hand, she looked to the ceiling as she twirled around and around and around to her little heart’s content.  Her squeals of joy and excitement echoed through the wide terminal and smiles just appeared on the faces of various people everywhere.  Now, of course there were still young gents zonked out with their headphones on, waiting for their next flight, and of course, there were still a few fathers openly exclaiming, “Will someone get a hold of that kid?!”  But the rest of us were joyfully entwined in the experience of this complete stranger.

We followed her graceful patterns of twists and turns and giggled as she hollered for her mother to look, but we were even more tested in our reactions when matters took a turn for the worse.  In a matter of mere seconds, the girl’s squeals of joy turned to groans of a girl growing dizzy.  You see, the weight of the backpack was throwing off her equilibrium and before we knew what was going on, she had hit the carpet…again…and again…and again.  While holding on to that backpack, she could not, for the life of her, regain her footing.  It was only when she tossed it aside that she was able to put both feet flat on the ground once again.

I wasn’t blessed to see a funny and goofy little girl in the concourse last night.  I was blessed because the Lord gave me a perfect example of my own life with the introduction of sin.  You see, sin is fun.  Oh man, I know I hit a nerve with some of you, but hear me out.  If there were no pleasures in the sins of this world, there would be no temptation to commit them.  As we walk through our lives on this earth, we can have a wonderful time carrying the burdens of sin along with us in our pretty pink backpack, just spinning along wherever we go.  Our squeals of joy will turn heads and enlighten others, and our laughter will echo as far as our feet could travel, and our bag of sin can become nothing more than an accessory to our daily wardrobe, but look out!

The book of Hebrews regards sin as satisfying “for a season.”  It is called in some translations a fleeting pleasure.  Just as this little girl in Concourse B of Midway’s Airport went from elated to nauseous in a matter of seconds, our satisfying season of pleasure will fade away, and all of a sudden, our pink backpack will be the reason for our demise and fall.  Just like this girl however, we have a chance to regain our footing.  But be warned, all attempts to stand while still holding onto that sin will fail, and we will be unable to get on track with our lives and our walks with the Lord.  Our only option is to discard our pretty pink backpack and get rid of the sin in our lives; to be forgiven and repent, taking off the “old self” mentioned in Colossians and replacing it with the “New Man.”  We must turn to Jesus Christ and let him take our backpack, for He is the only One who could ever hold on to it and rise again.

Fly High,

Bob Morton