Ben Sasse: Not Just Filling Time

Kevin Nelson and his family once received a print of Gustave Dore’s “Adam and Eve Driven Out of Eden” as a gift from a congregant. In the work, Adam and Eve stagger toward the viewer surrounded by thorns and thistles, while a sword-wielding angel behind them guards the entrance to Eden.
The congregant was Melissa Sasse, wife of former U.S. Senator Ben Sasse.
Nelson — who pastors Faith Presbyterian Church in Gainesville, Florida — believes the print epitomizes the way the Sasse family approaches life in a fallen world.
“There is meaningful work to be done. There are important things that are good, but [the Sasses] never put their hope in this life … They know that they are here as pilgrims. This is not their home. And yet, it’s a life that has all sorts of beautiful God-given callings, and they want to do as much as they can in this life to serve God and glorify him.”
Nelson said this approach to adversity was true for the Sasse family when Melissa was the only one with serious health challenges. Now that Ben has Stage 4 metastatic pancreatic cancer, the family’s outlook has not changed.

Ben Sasse: Not Just Filling Time | The Heidelblog