It's All True...

You will need your bible for this one...go ahead...I'll give you a minute to find it.  (You can google passages too fyi.)

Please take some time and read Psalm 103.  This is one of my favorite passages in the bible.

Amazing, right?!

I’ve grown up in church.  I can’t remember a time when my family didn’t attend church.  I’ve been to loud churches, I’ve been to quiet churches, I’ve been to churches that have been everything in between. 

In all of these different church experiences I was taught that God is holy, and I am not.  God is perfect, I am a sinner.  I deserve hell, Jesus suffered and died a brutal and horrible death so that I would not have to spend eternity there. 

I was told that it was my sin who put Jesus on the cross.  If I were the only human being to have ever lived, Jesus would still have had to die for my sins.

These things are very true.

I carried the burden of this reality with me everywhere.  Maybe you do too.  Maybe you are one of those who live with the realization of your sinfulness every single day.  Maybe you are like me who was so crushed beneath the weight of my own guilt that I wanted to hurt myself for my failures.  It is a great burden indeed to know your own heart.

But…there is good news.

Read vs. 2-4 again.  Now vs. 8 & 9.  Now vs. 10, pause on this one for a moment, let it sink deeply into your soul.  Now vs. 11-14,… “He knows our frame, He remembers that we are dust.”  Wow…

God, our father, remembering how He formed us out of dust, remembering our frailty, remembering to be patient with us, remembering to shower us with grace and mercy, remembering to not deal with us as we often deserve, remembering to forget our wrongs…

God, our father, love for us as deep as the heavens are from the earth.

Think about the expanse of the universe just for a moment; not too long, it will melt your brain!  The volume of the universe is the comparison for the volume of God’s love toward us…  Pause again…  Let that saturate your soul for a moment.  Fill yourself up with that thought.

Now read vs. 17-19.  How does this work with everything we have just read?  Isn’t that the point, I don’t keep his covenant!  I don’t do His commandments!  That’s why I need Him to be gracious and merciful and slow to anger and remember that I am just dust!

This is where Jesus comes in.  See, Jesus did not come to simply pay the penalty for our sinful lives, He came to show us how we can begin to live otherwise all together.  In Jesus’ sermon on the mount in Matthew 5-7, several times we see Jesus say things like, “you have heard it said, but I say to you…”, and “Truly, truly I say to you…”, and “unless your righteousness is even more than the scribes and Pharisees (religious leaders), you will never enter God’s kingdom.”  Jesus called us to follow Him to learn another way altogether.  What is this way?  The way of transformation.  Transformation of our hearts, transformation of our character, transformation of our passions and desires.  The way of a stream naturally flowing with good water (John 7:38).  The way of a tree naturally bearing good fruit (Matt. 7:16-18).

So how do we walk this way of transformation?  John 3:16, that’s how!

“For God so loved the world (there’s that infinite expanse of His love!) that He gave His one and only Son (Jesus coming to provide a better way) that whoever would believe in Him (this word “believe” could literally be translated “to place one’s confidence in, to place one’s trust in”) would not perish (here we are back to Ps. 103:4, “He redeems your life from the pit”, this word perish can be translated “to come to ruin”) but have eternal life (this is not eternal as in very long, but eternal as in John 17:3 (look it up)). 

So can I paraphrase?  Thank you!

God’s love is so infinitely deep and wide for the entire world that He sent us His Son to put His life and love on display for us to see, so that anyone at all who would choose to live trusting Him with their entire lives would not come to lives of ruin, but would instead live His very kind of life, lives full of relationship with Him!

This is good news!

You no longer need to focus on your unworthiness, but instead you can choose to live God’s very way of life; fueled and empowered by His infinite love to choose to trust Him with your very life.  Every area of your life.  Even your sin.

Take some time to just bask in the overwhelming reality of His infinite love for you.

Try not to pray, try not to be distracted, try not to read, try not to think about anything else, just sit saturated as if in a pool of His love.

Now, release your life into His very capable hands.  He can handle it better than you.  Follow Him.

Baking A Batch Of Salvation

I saw an ad for a church on my Facebook page this morning.  I clicked it.  I couldn't help it.

It said a lot of the usual stuff, in the usual ways, but all the while saying they were the church for people who didn't like church anymore but still liked Jesus.  I can appreciate that.  I think there is a little too much of this language everywhere you look in the church world these days, but I get it; a lot of people are burned out on the whole "church" scene.  So, there is a move underway, by some, to recast the church in a new, "hip" light.

Now, I like "hip" a lot!  I don't think of myself as "hip" at all, but I like it when I see it!  What I'm not real fond of is trying to be "hip" for the sake of "hip-ness".  I mean, if you are "hip", let your "hip" flag fly!  But I don't think "hip" is a good thing to work at...especially in church.  It just looks a little off.  Kind of like Tom Hanks' multiple characters in "The Polar Express".  You knew that train conductor was Tom Hanks, but something was just not quite right...

Sorry...tangent...

So on one of the pages of this church's website I saw "Becoming A Christian.  It's As Easy As ABC".  It then went on to spell out the ABC's:

1. Admit you're a sinner...
2. Believe that Jesus died on the cross for you to pay for your sins...
3. Choose to accept His free gift of forgiveness, by accepting Him as your Lord and Savior...

...and that was pretty much it.  Presto, Magico!  We just baked up a batch of salvation!  We have the list, we've checked it twice.  We followed the directions...Yep!  We're all saved now!  Doesn't it feel good?!

The problem is...Jesus never said any of this...

1. Jesus called us to repent, to rethink our entire way of living our lives, not just the bad things we do.
2. Jesus called us to believe in Him, literally to place our confidence in Him, not just something He did.
3. Jesus never asked permission when He forgave, no one ever had to accept His forgiveness, He just freely gave it whenever the opportunity presented itself.
4. Jesus said "...I am Lord...", "...I have come to save..." He is Lord and Savior whether one accepts it or not, it is who He is.

The question then becomes "Will I continue to fight for my own way, or will I recognize that His way of life is far superior to my own?"

This question is relevant both without and within our churches today.  Too many church attendees (either full time or part time) today have settled for an ABC christianity.  We have traded the beautiful, loving, adventurous, passionate, interactive relationship with the Creator of everything (both seen and unseen), and changed it for a three part formula that when mixed together and baked in the oven of human life, someday comes out smelling of fresh baked salvation from hell and into everlasting heaven.  

I'm sorry, it's just not good enough news for me.

Why do we do this?

Because it's easy.

It's easy to understand a formula; relationship is hard.  It's easy to believe three things, say a prayer and then wait for heaven; it's hard to develop a new life passion.  It's relatively easy to work hard to break a bad sin habit; it's impossible to become a different kind of person on my own.  It's easy to show up to church every Sunday, read some bible verses, pass out some tracks to people on the street; it's hard to become involved in people's messy lives, to meet people's needs, to be interrupted from something I want to be doing to spend time with someone else.  It's easy to give 10% of my money; it's hard to not want anything.  It's easy to feel guilt and condemnation; it's hard to get on with living His life.  It's easy to study doctrine; it's hard to love my enemy.

The real beauty of salvation is when we choose to follow Jesus (become His disciple) and we begin to learn to trust Him for everything, He saves our live's now!  We don't have to wait for heaven!  The glorious, beyond our wildest imagination, reality of a future heaven will take care of itself!  And where else would we go??  We've followed Him with our whole lives, of course we will follow Him into the next!

The real beauty of salvation is that we are invited by God (by way of gentle, loving command) to participate with Him in His great saving (reconciling) work in this life.  Jesus called this being salt and light.  Jesus said our good deeds would bring glory to God.  Jesus commanded us to love one another.  Jesus invited us to follow His example and make disciples, immersing these ones (through their interactions with us) in the reality of the triune God.

The real beauty of salvation is intimate and passionate relationship with Creator God.  It is not a formula.  It does not always make sense.  It is certainly not without danger.  It does require much effort, although I cannot trust in that effort.

The real beauty of salvation is it is truly good news.  Right here, right now, and for eternity!

Do You Have Your Jesus Camo?

I know, it's a gruesome image, but we use some gruesome language.

Consider the hymns we sing on Sunday mornings:
"There Is A Fountain <Filled With Blood>"
"Nothing But The Blood Of Jesus"
"There Is Power In The Blood Of Jesus"
"Are You Washed In The Blood"
"Covered By The Blood"

I watched a message on YouTube the other day of a preacher talking about the "gospel".  The gospel by definition is "Good News", this was what he was proclaiming is the good news:

"Jesus went to the cross so that you don't have to!  He took your place.  When you are washed in the blood of the Lamb, when you are covered in the blood of Jesus, then when God looks at the cross He doesn't see His Son, Jesus, He sees you!  And when He looks at you, He doesn't see you, He sees His Son, Jesus!"

I understand that might sound like some good news at first, not having to be crucified ourselves (...wait, didn't Jesus talk about us taking up our cross and dying daily?  Didn't Paul claim to be "crucified with Christ"?  Anyway.....), but really, the good news is I can hide from God by drenching myself in Jesus' blood?  Jesus' blood camouflages who I am so God can no longer see me?  Let's not even take into account that what appeases God is His eternally bloody Son.  And how long do I have to keep up this charade?  Is there any point in eternity where I can stop wearing my Jesus camo and God will be ok with me being in Heaven?  Do I just sneak by Him at the pearly gates as He's reading the paper, hoping that He doesn't look too closely as I walk by, "Oh, hey Son, be sure to wipe your feet so You don't track too much blood on the carpet."

Jesus went to great lengths to communicate the love of the Father, not His blood lust.  He went to great lengths to communicate how we are infinitely special to Him, how we are His sons and daughters, so much so that yes, He did send His Son to die a horrible death by crucifixion.  But is that moment in history frozen for all eternity?  Is God always looking for a bloody Jesus?  Are we to perpetually live with eternal Jesus camo?

Jesus communicated a loving Father, not just in the act of the cross, but towards us His children.  Paul understood this and communicated it over and over again in his letters.  James understood this.  Peter understood this.  John understood this possibly more than any one.

When God sees us, He isn't looking for His bloodied Son, He sees us, warts and all, and loves us just as we are.  That love is what will wash us.  That love is what will cure our sin disease.  That love is what will transform us into His very likeness, His image.

Let's trade in our Jesus camo for His very way of life, only accesible because of the cross, His eternal life.

Following the Historical Jesus?

I was talking with someone today who claims to be unsure of God's existence.  Of the existence of any god for that matter.  The interesting thing is he grew up in the church, his parents are in ministry in the church, he's been a part of our youth group, he's played for our worship gatherings, and unsure of God's existence.

We've known each other for a year now, a year this Easter.  I love this guy.  He's special to me.  I don't believe him.

We've been having this conversation for a while now.  The one about him not believing in God.  He's been told about God for much of his life, believed for a period of time, and then one day began to ask the question, if God is actually real, why won't He just show Himself?

He asked this in church one day...they told him that he couldn't play the drums in the church service anymore if he was questioning the existence of God.

His question became a decision.  If this is how christians are going to react to a question I have, then I don't want to believe in their god.

Done.  Just like that.  God doesn't exist.

So our conversations have morphed a bit now.  Like I said, I don't really believe him.

Today we were talking again and I told him that I didn't think he struggled with the reality of God so much as he struggled with the picture of God that has been presented by those who claim His name.  He said he thought I might be right...

I encouraged him to follow Jesus, there is no questioning His existence.

Is it possible to follow Jesus and question the existence of God?

Is it possible to follow Jesus and not know that He is God?

I'm thinking of the story in Mark 2 where the four men bring their friend who is lame to a house that Jesus was teaching in.  The house was packed so they climb to the roof, tear a hole in it, and lower their friend down.  Mark tells us that Jesus saw their faith, and said to the man "Your sins are forgiven."  Then He heals him.  Not once do we see the man, or his friends for that matter, say anything at all.  What was their faith?  Was their faith that Jesus was God?  Was their faith that Jesus was the Messiah?  Or was their faith simply that Jesus had a reputation for healing people, so chances are He could heal their friend too?

The interesting thing is Jesus was ok with whatever their faith was, they had come to Him with their need.  So he forgave the man's sins...and He met the man's need.  He healed him soul and body.

Oh, and Mark says that Jesus claimed to do this so that all present would know that He is the Son of Man, a direct reference to being divine.

It's as if Jesus were ok with the friends bringing the man to Him with no claim of recognizing who He really was.  He then used that as an opportunity to clearly state who He is.

I really hope my younger brother will choose to follow the historical Jesus.  I'm not even concerned that He may not be able to recognize Him as divine.  I don't think Jesus is concerned with it either.  I do think it won't take long for any disciple of Jesus, under any circumstance, to begin to recognize that there is more to this One, He is no mere human.

Redefining Sin (part 2)

The scene opens on a beautiful, sunny spring like day.  Every flower is in bloom, the smell of the pollen on the breeze is intoxicating, but not assaulting.  A wolf and a lamb are grazing side by side on the lush grass in the meadow.

A stir in the brush and the man and the woman step into view, hand in hand.  A lion lopes forward and nuzzles his mane nto the man's bare chest.

All is as it should be.

There is no fear, for none would do harm.
There is no pride, for all have been created by God.
There is no anger, for all are living in perfect harmony.
There is no selfishness, for all is God's and God has given all.

Yet a thought begins to tickle at the edges of the woman and man's thinking; might there still be more?

Why has God said not to eat from that tree?
What must that fruit taste like?  Might it be better than the other fruit of the other trees?
Why is this tree here if not to be eaten from?

Then the serpentine voice begins to speak; there must be a reason God does not want you to eat...
Maybe there is something about that fruit that God does not want you to know...
Maybe that fruit tastes better than all the other fruit and God wants to keep it from you...
Maybe God is afraid that if you have that fruit you will no longer want Him...
Maybe that fruit will make you like God, and He is afraid that you will no longer need Him...
Maybe God is holding back on you...
Maybe God cannot be trusted...

...and sin entered the world, and they took a bite.

---------------------------------------------

I have spent much of my life viewing many of my actions as sinful.  I have spent many years trying to purge sin from my life by stopping bad actions, bad thoughts, bad emotions, bad reactions and so on.  As many would probably agree with me, it is a long and hard and uphill battle fraught with guilt and sometimes despair and only brief moments of joy at success sloughing all to quickly back into pits of despair at how little ground is actually won.  All the while painfully burning in the radiance of Jesus' call to "...be perfect as Your Father in Heaven is perfect."

It was only when I began to question what was at the core of my sin, my "sin nature", that I began to see things change in my life.  But it got worse before it got better.

I was reading in Matthew chapter 5 where Jesus is calling out those who believe themselves to be righteous on their own merit.  Jesus says,  "You have heard it said 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.'  But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment...You have heard that it was said 'You shall not commit adultery'.  But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

Honestly, my first reaction to this was, great...I'm even worse off then I thought.

What I began to realize though, is that Jesus had no interest in making things easier on us; He had no interest in assuaging our guilt over sin.  He lived to show us another way, a way to be completely free from the power of sin once and for all.

What is this way?  It is a way to become someone different all together.

I began to realize through the creation story, through Adam and Eve, through the multitude of stories shared throughout the Old Testament, through Jesus message while physically here with us and the writings of all those who followed him, that love is the answer to the question of what is a life that is pleasing to God; love is the answer to sin.

Jesus summed it up beautifully in Matthew 22:37-40 when asked what is the greatest of all the commandments. He said, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul (here Luke adds, "with all your strength") and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment.  And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."  All the Law and the Prophets, all of the scriptures to that day, all of it summed up in Love God, Love each other.  You want to live a life that is pleasing to God, love.

Sin, I think we could all agree on, is not pleasing to God.  Sin, then, would be the choice, the decision to not love God, to not love each other.

Love, in this passage, is the greek word Agape.  It is defined in the Strong's Greek concordance, among other things, as "to wish well to, to regard the welfare of".  We could also say to desire another's good, or to want what is best for another.  What is it to desire God's good, to want what is best for God?  Interestingly enough it is inexplicably tied to our own good, to what is best for us.  What is good for God, what is best for God from us, is that He is followed, that He is obeyed.  The root of all this comes when He is trusted above anything or anyone else.

So let's look back at the garden.  What happened?  When did things go so wrong?  It wasn't when they took the bite, things were already broken then, it was when they decided that God could not be taken at His word.  God ultimately could not be trusted.

What happened next is very telling, God came looking in the garden...and they hid.  Why?  Because they were afraid.  One does not fear what is trusted.

Trust and love are inseparable from one another.  Look what John says in I John 4, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.  For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love."  

One does not fear what is trusted.
One who loves has no need to fear.

I began to see how sin is not found in my wrong actions, but rather my wrong actions are a direct result of sin, a direct result of not trusting God.

Not trusting God leads me to do my own thing, find my own way, seek my own peace, my own joy, my own pleasure, my own safety, my own security, my own success...and we can go on...

Biting into the fruit only comes as a result of deciding that God cannot be trusted.

My sin nature then can be defined as my distrusting nature.  It is what we are all born with.  A baby cries because if he does not then you might forget about his need for milk.  A child lies because if you knew the truth then you would reject her.  A teenage girl has sex because if she doesn't her boyfriend will find another.  A man cheats on his taxes because if he doesn't then the government will try to take too much of his money.  A dictator indiscriminately kills because if he does not the people will rise up and overthrow him.

It is in our nature to distrust, it is our sin nature.

How then do overcome our sin nature?  How do we overcome sin?  How do we start living lives with no room for sin, lives that result in doing good rather than wrongdoing?  How do we be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect?

By choosing love.

Listen to what Jesus says just before He calls us to perfection, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons (and daughters) of your Father who is in heaven.  For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust (so just trust Him, He's got it all worked out).  For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?  Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others?  Do not even the Gentiles do the same?  You therefore (for this reason) must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."  ...and how is our Heavenly Father perfect?  He causes His sun to rise and rain to fall on the evil and the good, the just and the unjust.  He desires the good of everyone alike.  He wants what is best for everyone alike.  He loves everyone alike.  He is perfect in love.  Now you, you be perfect in His way of love.

Overcoming sin is not accomplished by attempting to overcome my own wrong actions, overcoming sin is accomplished in the day by day, moment by moment choosing the way of love, which leaves no room for wrong actions.  So when wrong actions are a part of my life, I quickly recognize them as the result of sin in my life, I am choosing not to love, I am choosing not to trust God's way.  I am choosing to not be perfect.

My goal now is to be perfected in His way of love.  My goal now is to choose to trust Him through and through.  My goal now is to grow in His love, to love Him with my heart, mind, soul and strength and to love my neighbor as myself.  As I grow in this I am finding less and less room for sin all the time.  I am leaving sin behind and in the words of King David I have picked up new traveling companions, Goodness and Mercy.

Have I stopped all wrongdoing in my life now?  No, but it is no longer the goal either.

That goal of stopping something in my life has become too small in light of a larger passion of moving forward into new life with Christ (that comes from following Him to His death, but I've talked about that before).  This new growing passion for being consumed with His kind of life will eventually leave me with no room for anything but His way of life.

...and I think that's some pretty good news.

Redefining Sin (part 1)

I remember the day as if it were a movie.  Not shot particularly well, more like security camera footage, only in color.  For some reason this is the way most of my memories from my childhood work, a photograph, a silent video, somewhat sepia toned but with spots of color.  I can always see myself in my memories, almost as if they are someone else's of me.  Someone videoing and taking still shots of my life all the while knowing exactly what it is that I am thinking, what I am feeling.

So I am walking home from school, and I hate myself.

I've always had a strong conscience.  I had fought with it for a long time.  I tried not to care, I even tried to be a little bit of a "bad kid," but that conscience...  My mom used to tell me that if I ever did anything wrong then I was going to be caught.  No 'ifs', 'ands' or 'buts' about it, I would be caught.  She said something about God loving me...

What I started to realize was that she was right in the worst imaginable kind of way, I was always caught, but not always by someone else.  I was always caught by myself.  That stupid, overactive, never sleeping conscience!  Maybe this was why I always viewed my memories as if from the outside, maybe because I was always spying on myself, and I hated what I saw.

I grew up in church hearing about the evils of sin in our world.  How we all have a "sin nature" that causes us to want to sin.  How there are forces of darkness in our world that would try and cause sin to become the accepted way of life.  How sin entered into the world when Adam and Eve first bit the forbidden fruit.  I understood this in my own life.  I could see it as if from the outside.  I was filled with this blackness.

So I am walking home from school, and I hate myself.  I know who I really am.  I walk in the front door and no one is home.  I am so sick of myself.  I don't want to die, because I am certain God will throw me in hell, but I really hate me.  I'm fuming with it.  I walk into my bedroom, I shut my door, I pull off my shirt, I take out my belt and I begin to whip myself.  Over and over again, welcoming the pain, not holding back.

I deserve this.

I have been caught.

I have been found out for who I really am.

I cannot hide from me.

I had come to understand sin as an outside force, a black cloud in a sense.  Something ever looming on the horizon, praying on the weak, causing me to want to party, and look at porn, and break things.  But I also saw it as an infecting force.  And how do you deal with an infection?

So I took my daily inoculations of reading my bible, and praying, and going to church, and lifting my hands in worship.  I went on a mission trip, I shared my beliefs with my classmates; all this in an attempt to hold the force of sin raging in my body at bay.  But I wasn't fooled, God wasn't fooled, we both knew who I was.

I began to hold tightly to Paul's statement in Romans 7, "I do not do the thing I want, but I do the very things that I hate!  Wretched man that I am! Who will save me from myself?"

So I whipped myself.  I punished myself so that God would not have to later.  Maybe if He saw how much I hated that I was sinning, He would take that into consideration when determining my eternal destiny.

I was so broken.  I was such a mess.  How could I ever move beyond this?

The change came when I began to redefine sin.

(To be continued...)

Turning the Scope Around

When I was a kid I used to love looking through my dad's binoculars backwards.  I would hold the large lens opening up to my eyes and then hold out my hand.  It was like my arm stretched out in some eery kind of way and then my hand was so small.  I'd wiggle my fingers and feel very long.  I could entertain myself for hours just looking backwards through those lenses.

Telescopes, spotting scopes, binoculars, scopes of all kinds fascinate me still.  I still find myself turning them around at times.  What's interesting is the image is the same image no matter which way you look through the scope, it's the depth that changes.  Looking through the scope backward leaves much blackness in your field of vision, removes the image far from you and keeps you from seeing much detail in it.  Looking through the lenses as they are intended to be looked through fills your vision, gives you much to look at, much detail and brings the image in very close.

In the bible we are given two primary lenses in which to view God, who God is and what God does.  Both lenses give us much information about God, allowing us to see Him as He really is, allowing us to look on the physically unseen reality of God.

In one lens we see who God is, His character and person are revealed, God is named:

El Shaddai - God almighty, or God all sufficient
Jehovah Rophe - The Lord who heals
Jehovah Shalom - The Lord our peace
Jehovah Rohi - The Lord our Shepherd
Abba - Father, Daddy
Emmanuel - God with us
Holy Spirit - Named as Comforter, Counselor, Spirit of Truth, Sanctifier and more
God is:

• Love
• Good
• Kind
• Faithful
• Righteous
• Just
• Wise
• Sovereign
• Omniscient (able to know everything)
• Omnipresent (everywhere)
• Omnipotent (able to do anything)

...and many, many more.

The other lens is what God does, what He engages in in the world:

• God pours out His wrath
• God exercises judgment
• God will heal all peoples
• God sent His one and only Son
• God is the giver of good gifts
• ...we could go on and on with this as well.

How we look through the lenses, which is placed in front of the other, greatly affects how we view God.  Are we trying to understand who God is through the lens of what He does, or are we trying to understand why God does what He does through the lens of who He is?  Which way we look through our scope greatly affects how we view God.

If I see God's wrath and judgment first, then I struggle with Him being a good and kind and loving Father.  If I see Him as being the giver of good gifts then I struggle with His omniscience and omnipotents when it comes to evil in the world.  In this view, God looks distant, far away, small, limited in His actions.

However, if I am looking through the lens appropriately, understanding what God does in light of who He is, then I will understand that His wrath can only be exercised in His love and kindness and goodness.  I will understand His plan to heal all peoples in light of His omniscience and omnipotence (in other words I will trust that He knows what He is doing and will not hold him to my time frames or my limited understanding).

Looking through the lens appropriately does not mean that I will all of a sudden have full clarity in my knowledge and understanding of God, He is infinite after all.  What it will help me to do is trust Him when some circumstance in life does not seem to add up.  (God, I may not understand why you allowed such devastation in Japan, but I do know that You are Good, that You are Kind, You are Love, You are capable of doing anything, You are capable of knowing everything and You are our Father.  Because I know who You are, I will choose to trust what You are doing, and even maybe what You are not doing when I think You should be doing more.)

I heard it said once, you cannot fully understand the depths of God's love if you do not first understand the magnitude of His wrath.  I think that is a backwards scope.  How can I possibly understand what God is doing if I do not first seek to understand who He is.  

"And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." - John 17:3