John Piper: "All calamities...mingle judgment and mercy"

Tsunami, Sovereignty, and Mercy

John Piper wrote these words just 3 days after the Southeast Asia tsunami last December. They are just as pertinent to Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.

Piper rightly insists that the calamity of the tsunami (hurricane) must interpreted and understood through the cross: "It was both judgment and mercy. It was judgment on Jesus because he bore our sins (not his own), and it was mercy toward us who trust him to bear our punishment (Galatians 3:13; 1 Peter 2:24) and be our righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21)."