Truly Rich Reflections: Remembering Steve Jobs through the Catholic Pro-Life Lens

Everyone knows by now that Steve Jobs, the "visionary" behind Apple, has passed away, at the "young old" age of 56. His was a life well-lived, and in many ways, he "changed" the world as we know it. After all, where would the modern world be without the Mac, I-pod, I-pad and I-phone? (although admittedly, we don't have ANY of these in our possession.. yet! haha!)

Steve Jobs thought different and challenged others to do the same. He said many things that inspired many, such as the quote below:

“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. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.” [Stanford commencement speech, June 2005]

These are powerful words, which I am SO loving right now, because they speak directly and clearly to me at this point in my life (I think I am almost done "finding" what I am looking for when it comes to work! Pray for me!)

Now even though Jobs was a Buddhist, he had many characteristics, dreams and attitudes that were, in some ways, Christian. In fact, his death led to many Christians and Catholics reacting and expressing their thoughts, such as those posted here, here, and here.

What touched me the most though was the following article that I read from Lifenews.com. I encourage you to take the time to read it - you'll realize how life-changing one single decision in a person's life can be; how important it is to counsel or encourage people to adopt rather than abort their babies; and how one person's life can impact the whole world.

Steve Jobs Changed the World: Adoption Changed His

by Ryan Bomberger | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 10/6/11 10:32 AM

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The news hit me in the gut. I couldn’t believe I was seeing those few numbers, communicating his passing, beneath his photo: 1955-2011. Steve Jobs has, literally, changed the world. I’m typing this on my Mac, will check my emails and Twitter status on my iPad, and will stay in touch with everyone I love through my iPhone.

As a creative professional, his visionary work has helped my own visions become reality.

But his vision, his destiny and his ability to affect people, globally, may never have happened.  Jobs was adopted as a baby and loved by his parents, Clara and Paul Jobs. The baby they took into their hearts and home had a purpose in life that would be unleashed by the powerful act of adoption.

He began today’s revolutionary Apple company and has departed this world with a professional legacy that is awe-inspiring. The partially bitten apple represents the temptation that millions of us have been unable to avoid…waiting in day long lines for shiny objects that proved to us science fiction could be made reality by a creative genius. Jobs’ minimalistic approach delivered a multitude of near-perfect electronic devices.  From amber screens to full-color high definition, visually we’ve been changed by the adoption of Apple’s technology.

It’s amazing to me that, in 2011, especially among Christians, how foreign a concept adoption is. Adoption is the essence of salvation. There is no Christianity without adoption, in the spiritual sense. Yet, in the physical sense, it is rarely considered as an option. For those who are so passionately prolife, it is often the challenge thrown before us in our opposition to abortion, and rightfully so.

We have an opportunity to unleash purpose in a child waiting to be loved. I was one of those children back in 1971. Steve Jobs was back in 1955. The beauty of possibility is that we all can play a role in helping to foster and encourage it.  Who knows what my children, both adopted and biological, will become? All I know is that loving them, unconditionally, will allow their God-given purpose to flourish.

The nation’s largest abortion chain, aborting 340 children for every 1 woman that is referred for adoption, is the antithesis to this purpose. Planned Parenthood celebrates their founder who believed that “we are paying for and even submitting to the dictates of an ever increasing, unceasingly spawning class of human beings who never should have been born at all.” Contrary toMargaret Sanger’s warped mentality that children are “marked when they’re born” as “diseased, delinquents, and felons”, none of us know the beautiful potential that every life possesses.

We celebrate human triumph over the seemingly insurmountable.

There are so many well-known adopted individuals that have impacted many of our lives in one way or another: Charles Dickens, George Washington Carver, Nat King Cole, Babe Ruth, Dave Thomas (Wendy’s), Bo Diddley (musician/performer), Dan O’Brien (Olympic Decathlon Gold Medalist) and Faith Hill, just to name a few. Steve Jobs is among this list of infinite possibility. No matter the perceived worldly success of an adoptee, adoption is a loving act that transforms, not only the life of the child, but the entire family. And, sometimes, the world.