Two days ago, my wife and I were reminiscing of our days growing up. Now, I don’t know if this happens to everyone, but I do know it was something all the Hispanic, if not Puerto Rican families we knew were into.
Our parents would go out and buy a new living room set. A few days later they’d visit or call the local plastic-cover store. Within a few days, a rep would come and measure the sofa and side chairs as well as any other component of the set. The new set would be covered nice and tightly in plastic. Every piece would stick to you when you sat, moved, and especially, when you got up. One would hear all kinds of sounds coming from the sofas. You didn’t know if they were made-up sounds or the real thing! You could rub your hands across them just for sound effects. If you sat and moved about, you heard additional sounds! Even the throw pillows were covered in plastic! We were expected to sit and be comfortable, but how? The funniest thing was, getting up. Upon doing so, the plastic would come right up with you and stick to your buttooshki! See, as 8 or 9-year-olds, we spent most of our days in undies playing & running around, so you know those plastics would really stick!
My wife’s grandmother would have area rugs or runners to protect the hardwood flooring, which makes sense. But then, the runner was protected by having plastic placed over it. The policy was: “No one better walk anywhere other than on the plastic.” So, as kids we wondered what purpose there was in having nice floors only to cover them in rugs and why have nice rugs only to cover them in plastic?
Turns out, sin is just like that. You sit on it, get comfortable, and it sticks to you. It sticks to your sides, your bottom, and every part of you until you’re stuck. It’s fun at first. You’ll have a few laughs, you’ll hear funny sounds, and you’ll have to walk on a certain path. Eventually though, sin, being an offense to God, to a holy God, will consume you. You’ll soon grow comfortable again; you’ll get used to how it grabs you and how it sticks to you. You’ll look forward to the way it holds you down or the way it comes up with you when you get up. Plastic isn’t the best covering.
Try God. Jesus died for you. Just as when we go out to eat and a friend covers the tab, Jesus covered your sin. See, our righteousness is as filthy rags to God (Isaiah 64:6) and we fall extremely short of making a payment for our sins. So short, it’s impossible to do. Were it possible, there would have been no need for Jesus to leave his riches and holiness just to die in our place. But Jesus, being perfect, was able to die and rise from the dead when it should have been us. He’s set up a path for us to walk in. No, it’s not covered in plastic. Here on earth, it’s covered with tests and trials, but in Heaven, it’ll be covered in pure gold; streets, crystal clear like transparent glass (Revelation 21:21)!
