In order to get the Webb Space Telescope to see everything it is supposed to see, NASA has been aligning the eighteen mirror segments of the primary mirror so that they can see clearly.

In order to enable us to see and do everything that we are supposed to see and do, the LORD our God aligns people to see, hear and feel clearly. (Isaiah 6:9-10; Matthew 13:14-17).

For example, we must align ourselves with other followers of the Spirit of the LORD in the Way of Jesus to become the  “primary mirror” that sees:

the LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands [of generations], and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation. (Exodus 34:6-7).

What are the ways we do this?

Some of the ways are intellectual.

We can read and study the Bible and other books, by ourselves and in small groups.

But the best way to see, hear and feel the LORD clearly is for us to see, hear and feel the LORD acting among real people by being compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands of generations, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin while punishing people as little as feasible.

How?

—by us being compassionate:

—by us being gracious;

—by us being slow to anger;

—by us abounding in love;

—by us abounding in faithfulness;

—by us maintaining love to all people;

—by us forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin; and

—by us punishing people as little as feasible.

We cause these things to happen by aligning our efforts with other followers of the Way of Jesus who are filled by the Spirit of the LORD. (John 14:15-22; Galatians 2:9-10; 1 Thessalonians 5:11-24; 1 Corinthians 12:4-13:13; James 2:14-19).

The LORD does these things by being, thinking and acting as one person (the Father-Jesus-Spirit person)—by singing one song in 3-part harmony. (John 14:6-21,25-27; 15:26; 16:12-15).

In particular, the LORD does these things by acting like the shepherd described in the Twenty-Third Psalm—the good shepherd who we see acting among us in real life.

We see the LORD acting like a good shepherd by aligning our efforts with other followers of the Way of Jesus who are filled with the Spirit of the LORD and who share their experiences among us.

We learn how to act like the LORD as individuals and as communities of wisdom, families, businesses, nations, and civilizations by seeing how the LORD acts among real people in the ways described by Exodus 34:6-7 and Psalm 23.

What do we see?

We see the LORD dwelling among us in real life—showing his compassion and graciousness by making sure we lack nothing as he makes us lie down in green pastures and leads us beside quiet waters.

We see the LORD dwelling among us in real life—showing his abounding faithfulness by refreshing us even as we are walking through “the darkest valleys” of life and are eating in the presence of our enemies.

We see the LORD dwelling among us in real life—showing us his abounding love by anointing our heads with “oil” so that the “cup” of our lives overflows.

We see the LORD dwelling among us in real life—showing us he is slow to anger and quick to forgive, by continuing to guide us along the right paths even when we have gone astray due to our wickedness, our sin and our rebellion.

We see the LORD dwelling among us in real life—showing us his abounding faithfulness by driving away our fears and comforting us, even through the most difficult times of our life when we are walking through “the darkest valleys” of life and are eating in the presence of our enemies.

We see the LORD dwelling among us in real life—showing us how he maintains his love to all people and punishes people as little as feasible so that in this life and in the next one, goodness, mercy and love will follow us all our days and “we will dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (Psalm 23:6).

In all these ways, we see the LORD dwelling among real people, including among those aligned as the “primary mirror” of the Church Universal who are following the Spirit of the LORD in the Way of Jesus.

In all these ways, we see the LORD teaching us how we should act among real people in ways that follow the ideals of the Law of Moses and of the Prophets as embodied by Jesus. (Matthew 5:17; 7:24-27; 8:1-4).

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To help understand when we should be “divisive” and when we should not be “divisive”, please read my blog “Grace and Peace—Titus”.

For additional thoughts arising from the Webb Space Telescope, please read my blogs “The Webb Space Telescope—Reaching the Place of Service”, “The Webb Space Telescope—Years of Preparation”, “The Webb Space Telescope—Liftoff!”, “The Webb Space Telescope: God’s Unfolding Plans”, “The Webb Space Telescope: Shedding “Whatever Entangles Us”, “The Webb Space Telescope: Many Parts, One System!”, “The Webb Space Telescope: Fashioning Each Mirror”, “The Webb Space Telescope: E Pluribus Unum”, “The Webb Space Telescope: Seeing Things We’ve Never Seen Before”, “The Webb Space Telescope: Seeing People Better”, “The Webb Space Telescope: Seeing Jesus Better”, “The Webb Space Telescope: Seeing the Spirit of the LORD Better”, and “The Webb Space Telescope: Seeing the Father Better”.

In my book Visions of the Church (published together in one volume with my book Visions of America), I use the troubled—but ultimately triumphant—flight of Apollo 13  as the narrative thread to provide an overview of 2,000 years of Church history in a mere 80 pages.