Transcription
Cancer sucks, but I'm pretty grateful that cancer is a stake against my delusional self idolatry.
"Do you think you're ready to die?"
That's former Republican Senator Ben Sass talking with Ross. Doubt that Ben is facing a terminal cancer diagnosis, hence the markings on his face. The final question of the interview is, "Are you prepared to die?" Listen to this answer.
"Do you think you're ready to die? Do you feel ready?"
"I don't feel ready. But to whom would I go? I I have confidence that when Jesus says to the disciples, he didn't want to be identified as the Messiah yet. You keep these crowds away, you know, don't tell about the the water into wine miracle at the feast. How amazing is it that Jesus first um first miracle is a big ass party. Let's drink more together. Um but he says, 'You can't keep the children from me.' And we're told that we get to approach the Almighty. We get to approach the divine and call him daddy aba father. That's pretty glorious. And I know that that's what I need."
"Ben, sorry."
"Happy to get him to open up the."
"Can you got you got me at the end. Got me. Ben Sass, thank you for joining me."
"Thanks for having me."
I absolutely loved this whole interview. I'll link to the whole thing. Uh, go watch it. It's linked below. But just to make one comment about this conclusion: to me, this is a beautiful picture of what Christianity does. Here you have someone who's facing death and he's being realistic about it. You know, it's hard, but he's not fearful or panicking. He's still working hard. And the closing sentiment that is in his heart to express is that we can call God our father when we're trusting in Jesus. To me, this doctrine, the fatherhood of God, the doctrine of adoption, that those who trust in Jesus can relate to God like that is one of the clearest ways to see the difference the gospel makes in your life. And I, it really interested me that he used the term daddy, the more intimate, informal term. And this makes me think of Jesus praying in the garden of Gethsemane when he uses this Aramaic term Aba. You may have noticed this before. Aba, father. You may have heard that term, Aba. Aba is an Aramaic term for father that conveys closeness and personal relationship. It's a less formal term. Now, this is sometimes overstated. I don't think this is the exact equivalent of the English word daddy. It's not quite that informal, but but I also think it's okay to talk about God and and use that more informal English word as well. I'm just saying I'm not trying to draw a direct correlation, but there is this sense of intimacy, profound closeness and intimacy with this word Aba. And here's what's so amazing. The Apostle Paul tells us that the Holy Spirit in our hearts compels us to cry, "Aba, Father." To be a Christian is to know God as your father. her in this intimate way. I just want to press this into your heart for a moment. I find this so beautiful. When I get home, so one of the best parts of my day is when I get home. My three-year-old daughter Abigail's just started calling me dad. And she goes, "Dad." And she runs over and gives me the hug. It's the best, one of the best parts of my day. And she, you know, I love the fact that she knows I'm ready to give her a hug back. She knows when she's coming, she knows dad's home. He's excited to see me, just like I'm excited to see him. Think how powerful it is to relate to God like that. That is what the gospel does. When we talk about being forgiven, um, being reconciled to God, it's that particular relationship we are drawn into. Now, we relate to him as father, as dad, as the one we feel safest with, and we can run to him at any moment. And I find this so comforting to think about. You know, we're probably not facing cancer, though some of you may be like Ben is. God be with Ben and his family at this in these in this season of life. But whatever we are facing, we have the same thing. I mean, it's just endlessly wonderful to come back to this and remember this is what the gospel does. You can run to, like my three-year-old daughter running to me. You can run to the God of the heavens and call him father. That's what the gospel.