Last week on Morning Air, Sarah Tafoya shared the news that actor James Van Der Beek passed away on February 11 after a two-year battle with colon cancer, leaving behind his wife and six children. A video he recorded before his death quickly went viral for its honesty and openness. In it, he spoke about the slow, painful unraveling of the identities he once relied on: actor, husband, father, provider, steward.
“When I was younger, I used to define myself as an actor,” he said, “which was never really all that fulfilling.” Then he found deeper labels that felt sturdier, especially fatherhood. But cancer stripped those away one by one. “So I could no longer be a husband that was helpful to my wife. I could no longer be a father who could pick up his kids and put them to bed and be there for them.” He couldn’t work. He couldn’t do what he considered his duties. And in that emptiness, the real question surfaced: Who am I when I can’t produce or perform?
His answer came through prayerful reflection: “I am worthy of God’s love simply because I exist. And if I’m worthy of God’s love, shouldn’t I also be worthy of my own? And the same is true for you.”
Guest host Cale Clark noted why this strikes so many hearts: because we live in a culture that quietly trains us to become “human doings” instead of human beings. That mindset can even warp the way we imagine God, as if He’s waiting to measure us, rank us, or reject us. Cale contrasted Van Der Beek’s insight with an old line from American preacher, Jonathan Edwards: “God abhors you and is dreadfully provoked,” he once said, words that can leave a person thinking love must be earned.
But Lent tells the truth: yes, we are dust, and we will return to dust, but we are dust loved into existence. Cale pointed to Pope Benedict XVI’s reminder: “We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, ‘Each of us is necessary.’”
Nearly everyone faces this haunting question at some point in their life: Would it matter if I weren’t here? The Christian answer is not obvious, but it’s simple. God does not love you because you’re useful; He loves you because you’re His.
The best way to listen to the Best of the Week is on our #1 Free Catholic App. It’s free, and always will be! To get and share the Relevant Radio app, check it out here.