Ben Sasse is dying. In December, the former U.S. senator from Nebraska was diagnosed with stage IV metastasized pancreatic cancer—a death sentence. Clinical trials at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston have thankfully extended his remaining time with his wife and three children, but only temporarily. Remarkably, Sasse has chosen to walk through the valley of the shadow of death in the public eye: speaking to journalists, going on podcasts, and even starting his own podcast, Not Dead Yet. Through a string of public appearances, he hasn’t only borne witness to the hope we have in Christ in the face of death and suffering but has also clearly and intentionally sought—despite obvious pain and the cloud of morphine—to share honest reflections on a life spent in the worlds of business, academia, and politics. And his reflections leave believers with a framework for engaging what matters most. Redeem the Time For Sasse, these conversations are an attempt to follow the old Puritan precept, based on the apostle Paul’s admonition in Ephesians 5:16, to “redeem the time.” As he put it in a conversation with Peter Robinson on the Uncommon Knowledge podcast, “‘Redeem the time’ in my theology means it is a great blessing to be able to live a life of gratitude to God by doing stuff that tries to benefit your neighbor.” For Sasse, that includes “trying to figure out what the important things are, . . . the eternal questions you need to wrestle through,” like “the relationship between sin and death and a broken world.” Redeeming the time also includes “the chance to hug on my wife this morning and to love my kids and to reflect on some important questions with my friend Peter.” Whatever one thinks of Sasse’s politics during his eight years in the U.S. Senate—and there is much to be admired—there’s no questioning his thoughtfulness or credentials. Sasse is best known as a senator, but before his election in 2014, he was the executive director for the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals (which produced the Cambridge Declaration), served in multiple roles in the George W. Bush administration, was an assistant professor at the University of Texas, and was president of Midland University in Nebraska. He holds degrees from Harvard, St. John’s, and Yale, including a PhD in American history. I commend all Sasse’s interviews to you, including his recent 60 Minutes interview with Scott Pelley. This is a cultural moment for end-of-life faithfulness that we should be discussing with family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers. Sasse’s Interesting Times interview with New York Times columnist Ross Douthat has already sparked meaningful conversations about life, faith, and mortality among my law-firm colleagues. Where else will one see and hear a man staring death in the face—his own face bleeding from aggressive cancer treatments—proclaim to a secular audience, I got my diagnosis in mid-December, . . . I was incredibly blessed to be quickly at peace. I kept hearing the Pauline phrase, “To live is Christ, to die is gain.” Death is terrible. We should never sugarcoat it. It is not how things are meant to be. But it is great that death can be called the final enemy. It’s an enemy, but it’s a final enemy, and there will then be no more tears. I believe in the Resurrection, and I believe in a restoration of this world. . . . I don’t feel ready. But to whom would I go? . . . [Jesus] 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, Abba, Father? That’s pretty glorious. And I know that that’s what I need. These are words worthy of our time and reflection. Sasse doesn’t, however, limit himself to commentary on death or eternity. He wants to spark conversations about the here and now, too, to serve the people, the nation, and the world he’ll soon leave behind. Given his experience and transparency as a believer who has walked the halls of power, it’s worth reflecting specifically on what this brother in Christ has to say about the challenges of our current political moment. What can we as believers learn about the proper role of politics from a dying former U.S. senator? Consider four of Sasse’s observations. READ ALEX’S 4 OBSERVATIONS | 
