Its Value Greater Than Apple's: Steve Jobs Should Have Known It By Now

"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)

Why is it important for humans to obtain salvation? God is holy and no sinner could get to heaven. But the Bible says we are all sinners, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3;23). "For there is none righteous, no, not one. (Romans 3:10) And if we all have sinned, what then do we deserve? The Bible answers, " For the wages of sin is death but God's gift is eternal life through Christ Jesus." (Romans 6:23)

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.

Remembering My Halloween

"This tradition of remembering the dead is already ingrained in our culture which is uniquely Filipino and that makes it a part of our identity."

As a kid, I did not know exactly what my mother was up to. At exactly six at dusk, she would light each of the twenty four candles on two opposite rows at twelve each. A pair of neatly cut fresh banana bark served as holders for the candles. In between the rows were different kinds of speciality dishes offered to the souls. (And there is tuba too, a fermented sap collected from a lopped-off tip of coconut trees which is mildly alcoholic.) Everytime she lights each candle, she would utter a name as though she is summoning a spirit. Each candle is assigned to a dead family member from both my maternal and paternal side. (Till now, I'm still puzzled at the figure, what if there is more than twelve dead relatives from both sides, certainly jealousy and envy exist among the dead for the favoritism, hmmn...) And whenever a moth gets to land on the offerings, my mother would tell us, "that's probably one of my dead sisters or one of my relatives!". Yuck!

My mother of course is not a witch or a sorceress (before you let fly of your creepy imagination), she just follows tradition inherited from her ancestors. Every eve of first November, the rituals are ever present and really exciting. I remember rescuing one of her 'relatives' helplessly bulldozing its way out of the sticky suman that I accidentally de-winged it. I screamed rushing to the kitchen and told my mom of my supposed botched rescue effort. "Your relative must be dead again!" I was only five or six that time and a very scheming mind. Of course we would see our supposed moth-relatives coming in a whisper and seem to be enjoying every bit of the feast but not the foods per se but the bright lights that torched most of them. (Stupid kins!)

Early morning of first November, every home in our place is abuzz with their own preparation for "Fiesta Minatay" or Feast of the Dead. Local folks do not bother as much whether it is the All Saints Day or All Souls Day. As long as it is first of November, it is a feast in every sense of the word. This day has been a great tradition that everyone believes it is an obligation to offer foods to the dead so that the living gains approval from them and receive more blessings the entire year. This same day is rather sobering if you think pig is cute. The sounds of them wailing in unison in every neighborhood punctuate the atrocious porky appetite of these 'dead souls' who supposedly demand swimming in oily humba  or valenciana come visiting time. Even as a kid, I never liked watching these poor pigs being butchered. "Why can't the souls eat just suman and drink tuba?"

If you think everyone dresses up for the occasion, no we do not. There is no Halloween costume parade just like in the US or any parts of the West. First off, our place is one of the unfortunate spots on earth where electricity fears to tread, (there were attempts before but blame it on thieves and the NPAs that those with good intentions just spontaneously shy away from thinking over), so nobody ventures outside deeper into the night. If in the US they have the ubiquitous 'trick or treat' at night (albeit an eve earlier), unconsciously we too have our own version. We would make improvised torch using kerosene to go house to house and ask for ibos, (a sticky rice cake cooked in coco milk and wrapped in coconut leaves), for which the hosts willingly oblige, and cluster them around our waist so that when we get home we have a bunch of them. Sometimes we would hear scary sounds from the rows of sugarcane fields and run as fast as we could. Bigger kids would make fun of the 'pale-balled' little ones howling in fear. Others could get stuck  in  dirt mud while trying helplessly to salvage a doomed pair of slippers.

Time has changed since but tradition remains. Over the years, man's perception of life could also change. As for our family, we still celebrate the occasion but no more offerings for the dead. The dead do not come back in the form of a moth or any other insect just like my mother told me. (My mom has already repudiated her old-aged belief of the dead coming back on the eve of Halloween.) This tradition of remembering the dead is already ingrained in our culture which is uniquely Filipino and that makes it a part of our identity. Whether it is appropriate for Christians to celebrate Halloween is a matter of one's own conviction. As I said it is a tradition identifiable to certain cultures that gives honor and in remembrance of dead loved ones. There is no right or wrong answer why Halloween is celebrated by those who have found the truth. At the end of the day, one's own conviction must be individually sought, independently found and personally followed. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!