Dinging the Universe

            You’ve heard it hundreds of times this week, Steve Jobs died.  Facebook entries, news stories, and general conversation give abundant accounts of his accomplishments and impact on our culture.  I’m writing this on a Macbook, while text messages click over my iPhone interrupting, which reminds me of the blessings and curses through which Job’s impacts my life.

            Job’s had a goal in life.  He once said, “I want to put a ding in the universe.”

            I think of that phrase, “a ding.”  It makes me think of being at a mall and having someone open their car door into my car, leaving a ding to remember them by.  A ding is a small token in a vast universe, which is easily overlooked.

            Interesting to think of Job’s accomplishments as a ding.  But when held in comparison to all of human history and the immensity of the universe, Job’s desire seems more a statement of reality of how our accomplishments impact the cosmos.

            But human choices can more than ding the universe.  In minutes, the actions of two people around a tree crushed the fabric of life and bent all that God created.  They didn’t ding the door, they crumpled the whole vehicle. 

            The cross is God’s answer to another transformation of the universe.  It’s the beginning of a process of taking the “dings” out.  God will do more than remove small blemishes, in the end, the entire universe will get made over.

            Mr. Job’s, thank you for dinging my life. 

            Jesus, thank you for the process of transforming me.