In October I posted a reflection on two prominent Chicago Cubs players from the 2000s, Carlos Zambrano and Sammy Sosa. In that post I wrote about how encouraged I was at Zambrano's salvation testimony, but also how I was praying the same for Sosa.
A few weeks ago I then saw this article clipping (click the link here to view it).
In short, Sosa was back in Chicago, among other reasons, to meet with the Cubs' ownership and front office to make amends. This was not something he was previously willing to do. For the record, I don't know whether he did steroids for much of his career or not (although records seem to indicate he did use PEDs for at least one year).
I do still have questions about whether he truly received Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior on a personal level, or whether he just started attending a church and practicing prayer disciplines. When worldly news sources and outlets write about celebrities (athletes, movie stars, or otherwise) coming to faith, they are opaque at best and condemning at worst. So I'm still praying. But, this is a huge step in the right direction.
Prior to 2016 when they won the championship, the 2003 Cubs team was the most exciting team since I had started following them as a fan. Contrary to popular belief, they didn't have it all (no bullpen, and the batting lineup aside from Sosa and maybe a couple other guys wasn't a whole lot to write home about), but they had an ace starting rotation back when those things mattered in baseball, and they had a great leadoff man and a great slugger. Both Sosa and Zambrano were on that team. In a certain sense, one could argue that maybe they shouldn't have been good enough to make the playoffs. But in the playoffs, from the beginning until they were a game away from reaching the World Series, they were unstoppable.
That is, until they were stopped. This was the year of the infamous incident where a fan tipped a foul ball. Yes, that was unfortunate, but the team choked. A few plays later, their shortstop (who was a defensive ace) made a critical error on a routine play that ultimately cost them the game and then the series. But the most remarkable thing of it all was that this game could've been avoided completely had they won previous game, which was their first crack at clinching the pennant. (Their manager said that they could take it easy that game because it was on the road and they had two more chances to win at home.)
There are no do-overs in sports. And the same holds for life. Once you pass away, if you're not saved, you're doomed. And while Sosa and the rest of that Cubs team couldn't quite get the job done, they still have a chance to get right the one and only thing that matters, and that is their relationship with God.
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9, NKJV
The Lord does give us time. But, all the same, we don't have all the time in the world. Today is the day:
Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” Hebrews 3:12-15, NKJV