Katrina Reflections: God of All Comfort

What has this latest catastrophe taught us?

1. The sinfulness of human sin.

2. The Biblical role of civil government.

3. The safety and security we enjoy is fragile and we are too often not aware of it or grateful to God for it.

4. Catastrophes of this kind are a fertile breeding ground for bad theology.

The Christian response is guided by Jesus in Luke 13:1-8.

We can also look to Paul in 2 Cor 1:3-11 as he says that suffering is redemptive. Only as we suffer do we also experience the comfort of God in Christ.

Paul knew personal hardship and even the threat of death. But he also learned that by suffering the loss of all things, he was able to overcome self-reliance and to receive the comfort only God can give.

Some of us have not made much progress in the Christian life, because we have not died to ourselves.