RE:Who is Isreal

I DO remember my first taste of grace.Something I leenrad about grace is that one has to be aware they they're in need of it before it can be fully received and appreciated. For a long time, I didn't understand that I really needed grace. Unlike Gomer, I was always fairly righteous looking on my own; that was what other people perceived, and that's what I perceived too. I knew grace was there, but it existed to me in a conditional form; IF I needed grace, it would be there for me. And I did need it every once in a great while, so I was grateful it was there in those instances.But there came a time when my perspective changed. I began to see that my own righteousness wasn't as shiny as I thought. But I also found out something else that was even better. Even if my righteousness had been as brilliant as I had believed, God's was even better. Glowing enough to make mine insignificant.But rather than that bringing me shame, it was some of the most freeing knowledge I have ever gained. I don't have to try to measure up anymore, which is so great a relief because it's impossible in the first place. Once I realized that, I became acutely aware of grace, I felt it, and I treasured it.Life knowing that I'm nothing without God's grace and that he has given so much to me anyway is so much more beautiful than I would ever have believed.