A Tribute to Steve Jobs

The passing of Steve Jobs is truly a loss to the world. Here is a man whose creative work has a tremendous impact on how people think, feel and live their lives. You could say that his work revolutionised the way people live, which is magnificent. I am not sure if he was a believer but he is certainly God's gift to this world.

What Steve Job said at the 2005 Stanford Commencement Address really ministered to me. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UF8uR6Z6KLc) He shared three stories which talked about the high and low points of his life and his values.

His first story was about connecting the dots. He said you cannot connect the dots by looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. This is really so true for me. When you are going through a seemingly senseless trial in your life, it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward. It was only when I recently reflected on my life for the past few years that I could see what God was doing. Even now, sometimes I do not fully understand what I am going through or why God tells me to do certain things but I trust that the dots will somehow connect in my future. Everything God allowed you to go through is for a good purpose and it would never go to waste.

His second story is about love and loss. He said you've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. The only thing that kept me going on was the love of writing and the thought that somehow someone in this world would be blessed by my sharing. I loved to put into words what I think or feel and see the satisfaction of a finished work. Can you imagine how pleased and satisfied God was with the finished work of His Son: the Masterpiece amongst masterpieces!

His third story is about death. Remembering that he will be dead soon is the most important tool he has ever encountered to help him make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. To him, that is the best way he knows to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. I agree with him that we should not let the noise of others' opinions drown out our own inner voice. And most importantly, we should have the courage to follow our heart and intuition (no matter how bizarre it is). After all, these desires come from our Father. God placed such intuition in your heart to guide you to what you truly want to become. Everything else becomes secondary.