I don’t normally feel sad when a celebrity dies. I usually don’t have any connection to them other than seeing them on television or in a magazine, so it’s hard for me to feel much sadness.
But when I found out last night that Steve Jobs had died, I was surprised by how sad I felt. And as I write this post, I still feel sad. I know, it’s kind of weird. I’m generally not a guy given to much sadness. I don’t have any personal connection with Steve either. So why this sadness?
I feel sad because he can no longer lead the incredible company that he created. I am a huge fan of all things Apple. The iPod, iPhone, iPad, and Mac computers really are incredible creations. I’ve benefited from them incredibly. Steve Jobs was blessed by God with incredible creative gifts, leadership gifts, and visionary gifts. I’m sad that Steve and his gifts have been taken from the world. They will be missed.
I’m also sad that we live in a sinful world where pancreatic cancer can destroy and ravage man. What a sick, sad, sinful world we live in. Steve’s death at age 56 reminds me that creation groans and shudders, waiting for the redemption that will come when Jesus Christ returns. I can’t wait for the day when cancer, and every other scourge, is eliminated by the glorious, explosive coming of Jesus.
Most of all, I’m sad because I don’t think Steve Jobs knew Jesus. This is what really breaks my heart. Steve Jobs built one of the most incredible companies in the world. He created devices that are used by billions of people. His company has more cash than the Federal Government! He was on the front of magazine covers. But none of that matters now. What use is his fame and fortune and popularity now?
I think I understand why, at the end of his life, Solomon declared everything to be meaningless. When a person stands before the judgment seat, only a few things really matter. I really hope that, somehow, at the end of his life, Jesus got a hold of Steve Jobs.
I want to spend my life in the pursuit and exaltation of Jesus Christ. I want what I do now to sprint ahead of me into eternity.
Only one life,’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last. (C.T. Studd)
