Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. (1 Tm 1:2).
This greeting of St. Paul is not just a polite phrase, but an authentic wish, born of the fundamental truth that it is through God's grace that we are saved, and not through our own efforts. However, God's grace does not impose itself. It becomes alive in us when we open ourselves to it and cooperate with it. The most important thing in the practical life of a Christian is precisely that cooperation with grace that must be learned in a concrete life. How do we need to learn this?
God sends people to guide us on the right paths, so that we can use the grace we have received. St. Paul was one of such people, who thanks God for it. God's grace surprises us with the choice of people, it also completely surpasses our ideas about it. Saint Paul was a great example of this. He was called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ while he was still His enemy! He had to experience conversion. Then he saw what real faith was. If we do not experience conversion ourselves, we are unable to lead others to it: Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? (cf. Lk 6:39).
Faith is a living experience, not an intellectual doctrine. It cannot be passed on only theoretically as knowledge is passed on. You must introduce yourself to it, like the master introduces the student to the mysteries of art. If someone remains at the level of the knowledge passed on, not experiencing a living relationship with God, he does not have the appropriate vision and the right sensitivity to recognize the truth of the life of another person.
The wooden beam in the eye from the parable is an image of the lack of love. If we cannot look at another with the eyes of love, with the eyes of God, we are not able to truly help him. We do not have the proper knowledge of his weaknesses. Then we start to moralizing, educating, and giving "good advice". But that has nothing to do with truly leading to God. It is leading the blind by the blind. At the same time, a fully educated disciple becomes like his master, because love alone teaches him what to do. Love is so obliging, that the disciple is unable to do anything wrong.
It may sound seriously, but it is not a logic of force in this case, but a logic of love that obliges more than anything, than any compulsion. For love knows no limit. "The only limit of love is love without limits."
Until Tomorrow
fr. george