"sadly, many of us are far more concerned about the sin of others than our own. we pay far more attention to the spiritual needs of others than our own. because we minimize our sin, seeing ourselves as righteous, we don't cry out for and run after the rescuing and transforming grace that is ours as the children of god. as long as we still have hope in us— that is, hope in our ability to be righteous on our own— we won't run after the grace that is offered us in christ jesus. it's only when we are willing to give up on us that we seek the rescue that god offers us. seeing yourself as hopeless and if left to yourself initiates and ignites your pursuit of god's grace. the fact is that we all give daily evidence of our continuing need for grace. simply put, we have no ability to make it on our own. we still stand in desperate need of divine ."