Steve Jobs Who?

I have been an Apple fan from the beginning.  I have enjoyed almost every version of Apple commuter and technology that has presented itself.  Yet, until the last couple of years I haven't ever heard the name Steve Jobs.  Now, in his death, his name is strewn throughout the media.  His glories, in the area of Technology, are proclaimed, and questions of his philosophy and beliefs are questioned. 

There is no doubt about his technological brilliance.  But, in the end, his own words ring true, "death is the greatest invention of life, it takes out the old and allows room for the new."  Or as the bible says, "For it is appointed unto man to die once, and then the judgment."

It is the second part of the bible passage where Steve Jobs finds himself today.  Whatever we want to say about his accomplishments and beliefs, this one thing is true, he stand before a Holy, Just, Loving, and Merciful God, who will judge him not on his efforts in this life, but on the object of his faith.  Steve Jobs had said that we must believe in something, and in a sense that is true.  We have been created for faith and it is natural for us to believe in and place our trust in something.  That does not mean, however, that every object of faith is of equal value.

When we stand before God he judges us, not on our faith, but on the object of our faith.  He will not judge us on our sincerity, but on our commitment to Christ.  There is only one name, the bible says, by which a man may be saved from the wrath of God, and that name is Jesus.  It is only through the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ that God's punishment for sin can be satisfied. 

Death does make way for the new.  As we die to self and live for Christ, the old way of sin and death pass, and the new way of life and love takes form.  We no longer see things from the eyes of the world, but through the lens of our Savior.  In Christ the slave is free.  In Christ the oppressed find release.  In Christ the poor find hope.  In Christ life finds meaning.  In Christ all the glories and riches of heaven are ours.  In Christ men and women, young and old, rich and poor, American and Arab, Russian and European, African, Asian and Hispanic are equal and brothers. 

We can be thankful, that in the common grace of God, people like Steve Jobs have brought technologies that make our lives easier and connect us in new ways.  But as the bumper sticker says, "The man who dies with the most toys, still dies."  What lasts is our relationship with Christ, for in him is life, and that life is eternal.  For this who knew and loved Steve Jobs, my prayer is that you find peace, comfort, and compassion in the good news that God, through Christ, has a bright future for you, and all who believe in, and confess the name of Jesus.  I'm just saying....