Five months after the Suffering and the Sovereignty of God conference, two of the speakers—John Piper and David Powlison—were diagnosed with prostate cancer. On the eve of his prostate surgery (February 13, 2006) John Piper wrote the following article in reflection on his situation and in order to minister grace and truth to others. (It should be noted that this is one way to minister pastorally to those in need, but it’s not the only way to do so and it is not the only thing that needs to be said.) David Powlison then added the reflections italicized below on the morning after receiving the news that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer (March 3, 2006).