I don't need to be anymore aware of the need for God's grace to live a spiritual, holy life than I need to be aware of gravity to walk down the road. I certainly need gravity, depend upon it, without it even crossing my mind for a moment - and still I can walk a pretty straight line, if I do say so myself. It is no different when it comes to the necessity of God's grace, God's energy, for me to live a spiritual, holy life. God's grace is as all pervasive as gravity to the spiritual seeker (or non-seeker, even to the denier), and it does not depend upon us recognizing it. To say that God's grace is only available to those who give God proper credit is to attribute to God a superman-sized ego. Obviously, to recognize the author of life, to recognize the source of power and grace is an undeniable benefit, but is it essential or necessary? I don't believe so. The sun shines on the good and the bad, as they say.

In the biblical witness, the nations carry on their business operating within the grace and energy of God, mostly without giving credit or recognizing God at all; often attributing God's grace to other sources - until such time as he has sent a witness to them (and it is arguable that Israel's task of witnessing to the nations is truly more as a means of formation and instruction for Israel than for the nations). While it is clear that God wanted Israel, his chosen people to recognize the source of grace and life, it is only after God had taken considerable effort and time to reveal himself very deliberately to Israel. For the rest of the nations it was business as usual until such time as evidence and witness was brought to bear upon them. Only then was there a call to responsibility and accountability amongst the nations. And in that business as usual there was, inherit within their cultures, religions, traditions - a sense of the holy, a sense of morality. They sought to embody what they understood as the higher way within what they perceived as their own efforts, or even in dependence upon something (a god, a power, ancestors etc), and yet all of their efforts found their success through the grace and energy of God.
What does this mean? What am I trying to get at? That God is not an egomaniac. That the sun shines upon the good and the bad. That holiness is not the slave or property to any dogma or system. I copied my last post, Words to Live by from Ephesians, a christian scripture text, because it not only was formative in my life, but because I believe those principles, those values, are universal. While the text is tinged with a christian theological flavour, the concepts of honesty and love are universal. Life is not a slave to dogma or systemization, nor is the grace of god.