After a long conversation, the interviewer asked Ben, “Do you think you’re ready to die?”
Ben Sasse was a U.S. Senator for Nebraska from 2015 to 2023. Previously a college president and then, following his Senate work, President of the University of Florida. He is 54 years old. He is married with three children.
In December of 2025, he was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. He has been told he's in the last months of his life. This month, he has been a guest on many broadcasts, talking cultural issues, telling his story, and of his faith in God. The following excerpts come from a New York Times interview with Ross Douthat.
Ben says, “I don’t feel ready, but to whom would I go? I have confidence that when Jesus says to the disciples … 'don’t keep the children from me' [it's a metaphor for us.] We’re told that we get to approach the Almighty, we can approach the divine, and we get to call him daddy, Abba Father. That’s pretty glorious. And I know that’s all I need.” Ben trusts God as his Father.
Douthat begins to cry. Ben leans over and says, "Yeah, that got you. Me too."
The essence of Ben’s heart is: "I trust him. And I get to call him 'Daddy.'"
Jesus said to begin our prayer with, “Our Father.” Right there is our foundation for life, our secure hope, our unshakable identity.
We are not orphans wandering through a violent world. We are not abandoned sons trying to prove our worth. We are children of the Father, held by the hands that formed the stars and carried by the heart that sent His Son to save us.
So even when the diagnosis comes, even when the grave feels near, even when death stands at the door and whispers, “This is the end,” the man of God can answer, “No. My Father is here.”
Death is not stronger than our Father. The grave is not more powerful than His love.
The darkness is not greater than His light. Jesus walked through death and came out holding the keys.
In the midst of chaos and turmoil, in a culture and world spinning out of control, in the face of a terminal diagnosis, we can stand secure in His arms and love. In all of it...
Our Father is with us. And, because of Christ, we have life.
