Beyond Sunday Worship

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Steve Jobs, You, Me, And The Sobering Frailty Of Our Lives

When I heard of Steve Jobs’ death last night, my heart sank.

Not so much because he was a one of a kind innovator.

He was.

Not because he pioneered products that have become an integral part of my life (and the entire world).

He did.

Not because He was a freaking amazing entrepreneur.

Yep, he was that too.

Photo Credit: Flickr (Creative Commons)

The reason my heart sank was because he died so young. And I can’t help but wonder if his heart was right with God. Did he pass from death to life? Did he pass away only to pass into the presence of Him who died and rose again?

I suppose it’s not up to me to figure out. But I do want to fix your attention – my attention – upon eternal realities today.

Thinking Of Death

How often do you think of death? How often do you ponder the path of your feet? Do you take the time to ensure your life is making it’s mark upon eternity?

Cliche and heavy as it may sound, the end of your life is closer than you think. It may be 60, 70, or 80 years from now. But James was right to call it a vapor.

“What are our lives except a vapor that appears for a little while and vanishes and passes away?” James 4:14

We know that is sobering.

We know that is true.

We know we should do something about that.

But how often do we simply live for today. We say we have a plan for our lives, but we simply live for – “How can I be happy today? How can I satisfy my cravings today?”

The death of Steve Jobs reminds me that my life is a vapor and I want to spend it on what matters most.

I don’t want my heart to be fixed on earthly idols of fame and fortune while I politely choose to ignore the Word of God I know to be true.

What can you take away from this?

Here are 3 steps you can take today:

1. Think often of your death – the more you consider the end, the more your life will make a difference today.

2. Organize your time around what lasts forever – we all know this. Living it is a bit more difficult. Invest yourself into people. Make the name of Jesus known. Pour your life out as an offering.

3. Pray – pray for those in your life who don’t know Jesus. Pray for Steve Jobs’ family. Pray for those who are thinking of death a bit more today. Pray that they encounter the risen Savior.

Question: What has Steve Jobs’ death caused you to consider about your life? You all have been leaving some amazing comments. Let’s continue the discussions here.

Comments

  1. Arny says

    We will never know how to live for Christ until we know how to die for Christ – John Piper…

    that makes all the difference…

  2. Jon Stolpe says

    I don’t know Steve’s heart either, but his death is definitely a reminder of how fleeting this earthly life is for all of us. We all are going to die some day. When that day comes, will people say I risked more, reflected more, and left a legacy? And more importantly, will God say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant!”? Steve Jobs death reminds me of this.

  3. Khamille Coelho says

    When stuff like this happens it reminds me to focus on eternal things and not temporary pleasures. It also saddens me to know that our world is working so hard towards obtaining things that will soon pass away.

  6. Mark Snyder says

    I don’t know about Steve Jobs heart. I hope, in the end, he found himself surrounded by those who took care that He was right before God. But I do know this – his vision has been an enabling force for creatives worldwide, in the Church creative community and in others. How much have the products he and his company created served us in our endeavors – in crafting songs and multimedia, in powering our worship services with technology, in distributing and carrying our music everywhere, worldwide? So was he right before God – that is something we will only know in the future. But was he used of God anyway? You bet. God can make use of anything or anyone, to serve His purposes.

  7. Andrew Brooks says

    Well said David. Thinking often of your death is very humbling. It comes so fast. Let’s make it count.

  8. Chris says

    I look at what Jobs accomplished and I admire his passion, energy, and creative style. He didn’t create the smartphone. But he (and Apple) completely shaped the entire industry and forced everyone to follow their lead in how we interact with technology on the go. They created our current mobile technology landscape.

    Then I wonder, what if!? As a Christ-follower I have an unstoppable force at my disposal, the Holy Spirit. God’s presence is always there and ready to move and God desires to use me as an instrument for the advancement of His Kingdom.

    What if I approached my faith with the same gusto as Jobs?

  9. Sarah Wooten says

    Life is so good. It is hard to think about death – in fact, it makes me a bit depressed and anxious.

    I interacted mindfully with these emotions for a bit and realized something:

    I’m not there yet.

    You know – I’m not matured/evolved/enlightened/whatever to the point where I am letting go of this world and looking to the next.

    I mean – life right now is gooooooood. I’ve got three BUSY children, a hot husband, I’m livin’ in the house where I want to live in the village where I want to live, I’m doing a job I want to do, we have a thriving ministry in a church that is two blocks away, which is great because we like to walk and bike everywhere, we are healthy, loved, deeply connected and living life to the FULLEST.

    This may be a bit embarrassing, but I’ve just learned how to savor. In my past, I was always hurry, hurry, hurry, produce, produce, produce, look forward, plan, worry about the future, perform, perform, perform, etc.

    God has been so good as to recently teach me the art of savoring.

    Slowing down. Breathing in each moment, enjoying it fully and thanking God for the glory and goodness that is creation and each breath. AHHHHHHHHHH.

    Savoring has made all the difference. I enjoy everything more. My children. My husband. My ministry. The church I serve. The beautiful fall day. The crunch of leaves under my feet and the ohmylord GORGEOUS sunrise the other morning. Doing this causes joy to WELL up in places previously unexplored. I can’t explain it – I just enjoy it and go along.

    I believe it has also made my soul more available to encountering the glory of God because you start to see it EVERYWHERE. In the afternoon sunlight slanting through the window. In the laughter of a child. In an intricately amazing flower. You start to laugh and delight and become childlike and I think God also laughs and says, “I’m so glad you noticed! I thought it was AWESOME TOO!”

    When I ponder death, I start to feel sad and clingy and depressed, because honestly, I don’t want this ride to end. And guess what? That feeling is legitimate, so I just let it be there. Because that is where I am…right now. I won’t always be there. I know lots of elders that have a faraway look in their eye, like God has given them the grace to see into the afterlife. Like they have lived and matured and become enlightened through the passing of time in this skin, and God brings them into a stage where they see what is to come. That is beautiful too…and I have faith that someday, I will be there as well.

    But now right now. 🙂

    So savor away, all you souls that are blessed to walk this planet at the same time as me. And enjoy the ride – it’s a goodin’!

    ~sarah

    P.S. Thanks for enduring my ridunculously long comments. I don’t know why I’m going on and on…

    P.P.S. I’ve been navigating around your blog and reading your blogs – they are excellent! Yay! I did notice something a bit annoying however – every time I open a new blog, it opens in a new tab – which, in a few miutes, filled my navigation bar with 10 TABS! You might want to consider setting them to open in the same tab, not a new one.

    Blessings!

    • Sarah Wooten says

      Oops…sorry for the duplicate comment – wordpress just dinged me.

      Thank you, btw, for the epic comment. I appreciate that.

      But do you know what is really epic? That top comment widget in the sidebar. Where did you get that thing? It makes me feel like I am back in middle school…oi, not truthful…ok elementary school – and playing centipede in the arcade.

      Just. one. more. quarter. I can get the high score – put my initials up there – SJW

      I really love your website design. It is easy to navigate and the design is elegant and beautiful…uhh…I mean manly. And full of lumberjacks. And electric guitars! RAR!

      All joking aside…great job. Thanks for writing these authentic, probing articles. You rock dude.

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