I woke up Easter morning with mild cold symptoms. It was poor timing for a preacher. As I moved through preaching, lunch with friends, a daughter’s birthday party, and an engagement celebration, my energy-level waned. By mid-day Tuesday, I was clearly sick. By Wednesday, most of my family and some friends tested positive for Covid. It’s been a month, and everyone else has moved on.
Apparently, my Covid has what my doctor calls “a long tail.” She says I have at least a few more weeks before there will be any cause for concern.
Hmmm.
I wake each morning feeling as though some tiny fairies have spent the night packing my throat with cotton balls. Then, as I start to move around, a slow-drip cane syrup dispenser begins continuously saturating the cotton balls. My energy level seems to be determined by their weight. As they get stickier and heavier throughout the day, so goes my energy. A broad range of OTC meds have proven impotent against my long-tailed virus.
The impact is clearly visible. Strangers give me a wide berth as I seek to clear my throat. Family members keep asking me if I’m okay. Church members tell me I look tired as I’m about to preach, proving that timing affects the weight of our words.
I’m tired. I’m not sad, mad, or indifferent. But I am tired. Though my doctor says I am far removed from any real danger, the long tail of my virus is continuously thumping me, affecting how I feel and how others see me.
Sin can have a long tail. Long after the Great Physician says we’re removed from any eternal danger, the long tail of our sin can continuously thump us, affecting how we feel and how others see us.
I’m not about to allow the long tail of Covid to define me. I will not bear its name as my identity. Yet that’s the temptation of the long tail of sin. After the regret and repentance, because the long tail continues to affect how we feel and how others see us, we can accept the scarlet letter, wearing the label of our sin, and allowing it to define us.
Yes, sin can cause others to mistrust us long after we’re consistently honest. Sin can cause irreversible damage, sometimes costing more than we can ever repay or repair. Some will refuse to forgive us. Others may forgive without interest in rebuilding trust. Sometimes we’ll struggle to forgive ourselves. Sin can have a long tail.
But grace… When Jesus uttered the words, “It is finished,” he was referring to the real impact of our sin – our separation from God. Did he eliminate the long tail? No. But he did eliminate the real danger for those who trust him.
The long tail is to be persevered, rather than feared. In this fallen world, we’ll feel the effects of sin, ours and other’s, even sin that has been redeemed. But this is not our home. When we get home, there will be no long tails.
I should probably write more on the long tails of sin, but I’m tired. So, I’ll leave you to develop your thoughts about the long tails of your own sins, and how they are affecting you. Remember, they are to be persevered not feared.