"No one wants to die; even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there." - Steve Jobs
He was a true icon of this generation. A creative genius, a visionary. A Cinderella man whose legacy will be remembered forever. A real pop star in every sense of the word. When Steve Jobs died, Apple's website announced that the world has lost an amazing human being. He had touched lives and essentially changed the world. A tsunami of praises heaped on him after his death doesn't seem to fade just yet. But if in his deathbed he still could not overcome his fear, then one can say, he was a scared man till he breathed his last.
Make no mistake, 'though I do not own an Ipad or an Iphone (I chose not to), I am a big fan of Jobs. I have read a lot about him - how his genius and innovation simply made life for people on this planet easier. Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, given his monumental success was once a pundits' object of ridicule when he could not pull off a Job's charisma and spontaneity at a product launch. Even for brilliant techies and contemporaries, Jobs is someone who's being looked up to.
"What a waste to have lost such a genius at still a young age," others rationalize in deep resentment. Many fans just can't come to terms with the loss. Some complain that how in the world his billions could not save him from death. Others resent why a pancreas could not just be rendered redundant in this genetic age. It is unbelievable how people get so caught up with the things of temporal value that they forget there is one thing that lasts for eternity. Death for some is a hard fact to swallow, but sadly the tentacles of death taunting us is a terrifying reality one cannot just look over.
Even atheists at some point entertain the thoughts that what if indeed God exists. Certainly, we cannot lie to ourselves that death is a big hoax because at some point in our lives we have witnessed death happening - in the family, our closest friends, or even our beloved pets. We even hear those who have lost their loved ones saying, "we will soon be together in the after-life". Why so? One thing we can conclude though - they believe that there is life after death, and that they believe there is a place where people who died will see and join their loved ones.
Most of us feel doubtful about the things beyond us such as death, but the Bible is straightforward in its truth saying "For it is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment." (Hebrews 9:27) Death is certain as we all agree, but where do we go after we die? Maybe we take the form of mist-like Casper and hang around in creeps yet with good intention? Or is it the perfect time to turn the tables on those vain fellows who had once made our lives miserable? Even our imaginations would sometimes take us to where we would choose to be - to some fairy tale realm, or us going through the process of reincarnating into a bird, a penguin or a dinosaur - yet none of this sort of things will ever come true.
The Bible is very clear about death and judgment. But how one can avoid judgment? Let us remember that God is a loving god and that He loves the world so much that He gave His one and only Son Jesus so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16). Therefore if one does not believe in Jesus there is a possibility that he will not have eternal life. And God speaks of those who do not believe that they are perishing into eternal damnation which is the lake of fire. But still God desires that everyone could get saved, and come to the knowledge of truth. (1Tim. 2:3,4)
But what about our good works? Don't they count as much? What about giving alms to the poor, giving money to the church, sponsoring a poor child's education, or giving a piece of hamburger to a beggar while your friend takes a photo of your generosity? Of course they are commendable. But God says, "we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteous acts are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). "For it is by grace that you have been saved, not by your works so that no man should boast (Ephesians 2: 8,9).
No matter how many different roads we prefer to take for us to get to heaven, the Bible says there is only one way and that is through Jesus (John 14:6). But sadly, a lot of people prefer to take their own way only to fail when they get to the end. Not even Oprah, with all her wealth and influence could accept that there is only one Way and that is Jesus. The Bible says, it is Jesus who paid for our sins through His death on the cross. He took the punishment for our sins. Instead of us getting nailed on the cross for our sins, he took our place and made himself a sacrifice for us, so that anyone who believes in him will be saved.
God is love. That's true. That's why people refuse to come to terms that a loving God could put His creatures in hell, and that creates a heck of an argument. Yes, God is love that's why he sent Jesus His son to die for our sins, but let's not forget that God is also a righteous God. He cannot accept us sinners because He is holy that's why we are eternally separated from Him because of our sinful nature. But there is good news here. Jesus had bridged that gap between a holy God and a sinful man, so that all can get to heaven. And not only that, God himself calls us His own children if we accept Jesus into our lives because He is the one who sent Him (John 1:12), (John 12:44-50).
Yes, it is difficult to talk about death because it follows that you talk heaven and hell as well. Most people prefer to talk about the good things that a dead man had done when he was still alive. However, it is very sad to note that the tributes, the praises heaped on the dead cannot be appreciated by him because he had no awareness of what's happening on earth after he dies. A believer in Jesus after his last breath is taken to heaven while a person who dies without Jesus in his life goes to hell immediately, and this is the plain truth. (Matthew 25:46), (Matthew 13:41,50) The Bible is precise about the two destinations of man after he dies. The bad news is, there is no such thing as purgatory for those who have 'slightly' sinned. Clearly, salvation is by choice and not by destiny. Man has been given free will and intellect to decide. It's only two things. Whether we accept Jesus who died for our sins, or we reject Him and continue with our sinful deeds.
For us Steve Jobs' fans, I have here a thing to get excited about. If he had accepted the Lord Jesus Christ before he died, then we have something to rejoice for. He must be rejoicing in heaven now and have met the One who gifted him with enormous talent that impacted the world. But there's another to get sad about - if he died without Jesus in his life, he must be in a place of terrible torment now. To a rich and powerful person, it takes a great deal of humility before one recognizes that he is a sinner and that he needs Jesus. I hope Steve Jobs did just like that. For you wouldn't wish for anyone to go to hell, not even Hitler or Bin Laden, for it is a really really terrible place of torment. For a person who has been blessed to have known the truth, I wish that everybody should come to the knowledge of truth, and accept that Jesus is the only way for us to get to the place where everybody dreams to belong, for it is what God desires for us all. In Revelation 3:20, Jesus says, "Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and open the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me."
I am not a fan of this guy posting his thoughts on Steve Jobs' death, but what he had to say is something worth pondering about. You may also check out this blog by Daniel St. Pierre.
2 comments:
God is a loving god and He wants us to have an eternal life with Him in Heaven, where there's no pain, hunger or loneliness and not in the burning lake of hell. We only need to accept Jesus Christ us our Lord and personal savior and repent for all our sins to have eternal life. And we should grab that opportunity RIGHT NOW before it's too late because no one knows what tomorrow might bring. JESUS IS THE (ONLY) WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE!
@ Pepe, sadly this truth is greatly overlooked by most people. They tend not to talk about it and find it irrelevant.
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