Your IPOD Is Going To Die

“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” “Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.” (John 11:21-27)

Whether you know it or not – your IPOD may not be long for this world. Apparently this was news a little too shocking for Casey Neistat to deal with initially. Back in September of 2004, Casey Neistat of New York City discovered that the battery in his 1st-generation 5-gigabyte IPOD could no longer hold a charge for more than an hour. So he called Apple. Unfortunately for him, Apple advised him to buy a new IPOD because they didn’t have a battery replacement policy at that time. Once the battery died – that was the end of the machine. Throw it away and buy a new one. Now prices for this magical music machine range from $300 to $500. So Neistat was understandably upset and unwilling to take a loss in his investment. So being a rather resourceful fellow, he decided that since Apple wasn’t going to replace the battery for him, he’d do it himself. He bought an off brand battery for $50, and set down to open his IPod… and promptly broke it. He discovered that the battery was attached in such a way that it could only be changed by trained personnel. Now, not only was he out the money for the broken IPOD, he also possessed a useless $50.00 battery! At this point Neistat got so infuriated that he started an internet site which featured a video of him spray-painting the phrase: “IPOD’s irreplaceable battery lasts only 18 months” all over lower Manhattan. He was like a man possessed. He was on a mission to proclaim to the world that the battery in our IPOD is going to die. His efforts generated a great deal of interest. The 8.2 million people of New York City started noticing his graffiti and his internet site soon racked up over 1 million hits. That got Apple’s attention. Apple realized that people could start perceiving the engineering of the IPOD from a negative point of view. (For example: It’s feasible that some misinformed soul might actually think that the engineering was an intentional gimmick to get more money from an unsuspecting public. One might erroneously think that changing a battery should be a simple task and that making it impossible for the average person to change a battery was a devious marketing scheme to promote additional IPOD sales.) So in order to avoid these possible misunderstandings, Apple began offering a replacement battery service for anyone who had purchased their wonderful device. So today if the battery in your IPOD does die, you can contact their service department who will now graciously replace your battery, for an average fee of $70.00, plus $29.95 shipping and handling, plus tax. – Let the music play!

Now I don’t really blame Apple for this problem. After all, they’re in business to make money and they figured a battery is only going to last so long anyway. It’s just a fact of life -every battery will eventually age and die. So why get so upset? But the outcry over the dead battery issue did teach Apple a universal reality - people don’t react well to death… even if it’s the death of their IPOD.

In the passage above Jesus has just arrived at Bethany following the death of His friend Lazarus. Understandably, Lazarus’ sisters were grieving the loss of their brother. Both Martha and Mary were anxious over the fact that Jesus hadn’t arrive sooner. “If you only you had been here, my brother would not have died.” They believed that if Jesus had been there, no matter how sick Lazarus was, He could have raised him out of his sick bed. It sounds like they had great faith – but in reality it was only half-faith. They believed Jesus had the power to raise Lazarus when he was sick, but not when he was dead. They believed no illness could kill their brother when Jesus was there, but once their brother died, they thought even Jesus couldn't change that. Even when Jesus says to them “Your brother will rise again.” The response was, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection in the last day.” Contemplating the immediate resurrection of their brother wasn’t something they were able to wrap their minds around at that moment. Their reaction was very similar to ours at times: It's easy to rejoice in the power of God for the future while doubting it today.

Jesus wants to move the two sisters beyond every doubt of his power. He said to them, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” Turning to the grave he calls out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” Everyone was standing in anxious anticipation of the tomb being opened. This was a critical moment, because if Lazarus didn't come out, Jesus' credibility was on the line. Everyone waited to see what would happen. They wondered whether Jesus' command for death to give up its victim would be obeyed or not. Did He have the power to get Lazarus out of that tomb by reversing death? Did He have the power to grant new life? The people stood by, hearts pounding in anticipation. Then the Bible tells us that a dead man – now newly alive - came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen and a cloth around his face. Lazarus was alive, even though he had been dead. At the sound of Christ's voice, death yielded up its captive, and Christ stood as the conqueror of sin, Satan, and death. No more fear. No more doubt. Only Victory and a Great Shout!

OK, so the bad news is your IPOD is going to die. Replace the battery and it’s just going to go dead again. So much for the toys of this world. The good news is through the power and the victory of Jesus Christ, you and I are given the opportunity to face death and come out on the other side to experience eternal life. Thank God for His indescribable gift!

Live the Victorious Life,

PT