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.

Good Friday Should Have Been Really Good

"A man who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and become the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act." - Mahatma Gandhi

Some went as far as having themselves nailed on the cross last Friday to commemorate the death of Jesus on the cross at Calvary. I don't know if the term commemorate suits the act of penitence that is not required from anyone in the first place. When I was little, I have not heard of this painful actual dramatization of Jesus' death on the cross. What I came to know about is - Jesus did it for us once and for all - to redeem us from our sins because there was no worthy sacrifice that warranted forgiveness from our sins. But just like how technology has evolved at a dizzying pace, those who believe they are giving Jesus honor during Lenten season have also reason to believe they should not be contented with a lousy dramatization of His death and so they wanted to experience what had Jesus actually experienced on the cross. But then again no matter how hard they attempt to duplicate what appears to have become a carbon copy of the original one, they still fall short of a complete level of agony Jesus had gone through. Wouldn't it be more complete and praiseworthy had they allowed themselves to be stabbed with a spear and so perfecting their act?

Celebrating Good Friday indeed comes in various forms. Creating a spectacle in public by flogging oneself in a gory dramatization is one common form, and reveling in orgasmic proportion is another. Though we can perfectly understand how people wanted to be solemn and prayerful during Lent, some cannot be stopped from indulging themselves into drunkenness and other forms of revelry. No less than showbiz personalities proliferate popular spots during Lenten season, understandably not to meditate or experience solemnity but rather becoming tabloid staples for drunken rage and or hormonal innuendos. As this qualifies to be normal or traditional, it is no strange thing to predict that it's not gonna be obsoleted not any time in another hundred years. Such is the popularity of Jesus' death that Filipino Christians have and will always make this a reason to celebrate (read as: revel in debauchery).

And a first-hand proof:

This person lying in a stretcher below was one of the revelers on the eve of Good Friday. He is twenty, barely out of teens. At a young age, he has learned the trade of surviving in the street, literally. He drives a family-owned second-hand tricycle acquired from the sale of their only carabao (water buffalo). There is not much option for him but to toil his ass off to help his family get by. (His fiancee whom he took with him to his parents home is pregnant.) If most people believe Good Friday is a fitting day for making sacrifices, he also believes he has been sacrificing all his life and that he also deserves a break once in a while - and he has found no less a consenting duo - in the occasion itself and his bloating other half. It wouldn't take long before he found himself  being gifted with a smash on his head with a beer bottle by another drunken reveler in a videoke bar. He was not alone though, a friend whom he tagged along suffered the same fate. All the while, his parents did not know what he was up to thinking he has been raised well.

I had the liberty to take these pictures because he had to wait for five hours before he could be given medical care. (This patient came before the sun rose and waited till ten in the morning before the lone doctor in the hospital laid his eyes on him).   This is a government hospital that prides itself in its magnificent ratio of one is to one : not one doctor for every patient, but one doctor for every shift. The entire shift also covers the entire hospital, so imagine if you have the only doctor working his tail off in the delivery room, surgical unit and emergency room at once. I think I have done little research on this patient and I guess I'm now being accused of being intrusive, creepy or whatever. Don't worry, this post will not, for a reason go into the brink of dropping a bomb to pillory those in this story. I just find the necessity to take their story as an example of a polarizing modes of commemoration, celebration or allow me to call it blasphemy or any other term you may call it - of the death of Jesus. After all, the patient's mother is my sister and he is my nephew and I shouldered all the bills. ( Not the kind of thing I expect from a brief vacation.) I could only wish he should have stayed home on Good Friday and not played party to the contempt Jesus had on those who blasphemed His death. Sigh...