Congratulations to the Milwaukee Brewers who won the World Series and can now say they are world champions. I remember being in first grade when the Brewers came to Milwaukee. The previous year, they were the Seattle Pilots who went bankrupt after their first year and moved to Milwaukee right before the start of the 1970 season, having been bought by an ownership group led by Bud Selig. On April 7, the Brewers played their first game in Milwaukee and got clobbered by the California Angels 12-0. 57 seasons later, they won the World Series.
Over the years, there were some really bad teams, some good teams, and some excellent teams. There was the 1982 season when they lost in the last game of the World Series, and the 2002 team lost 106 games. And as a fan, one wondered if they would ever win it all. Waiting is hard, but when the goal is reached, the celebration is sweet.
For followers of Jesus, the sweetest celebration will be when we open our eyes and behold our Lord and are welcomed home to the Father's House and join the countless throng described in Revelation 7. Unlike fans of a sports team who cannot guarantee that their team will win the championship, for us who are in Christ, holding on to Him and what He has done for us, believing in Him as our Savior, the victory celebration is guaranteed. As Paul says in Romans 8:37-39, "In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
We are saved by grace through faith in Christ, but like players pursuing a championship, the road to celebration involves hard work and dedication as the ups and downs of life come and go, the temptations to move one's eyes off of Jesus and make something else more important than Him, and the challenges of loving one's neighbor as oneself present themselves. But the motivation of love for our Lord and being with Him forever in heaven keeps us going as the Holy Spirit keeps our eyes fixed on the prize and the joy of a celebration that will never end.