“I Am What I Am!”
by Keith Leach, February 2025

I Corinthians 15:3-5 For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

“I am what I am, and that’s all that I am. That’s all I can stands, ’cause I can’t stands no more” is a long ago staple in cartoon land. When Popeye the Sailor man had have enough, he would proclaim this mantra, eat his spinach and set the world right again. I grew up watching his cartoons and as child, there were times when I wished to do likewise!

In these verses, we hear some of Paul’s words given to a congregation that he knew very well. They are words of encouragement and some words of very direct admonishment. The admonishment begins with the basics of what Paul had taught them when he was with them. Others had come in and had expanded Paul’s teachings of the Gospel message. The Church in Corinth was moving away from the pureness of the Gospel of what God had done for humanity and moved into trying to “earn” salvation by showing their “spiritual gifts”. Paul understood the danger of this somewhat ugly situation and the horribleness that would happen if they did not get a reset. The entire letter to the Church is his attempt to get them back on track.

I do not know about you, but I often find myself in a similar situation as I try to add and explain the Gospel to other people. I often “swerve” off course and add things with good intentions. However, adding things is always dangerous. Perhaps we should listen to Popeye’s mantra and use it ourselves.

Perhaps, we as Christians should all work to concentrate on the core of the very good news of God’s gift in the teachings and life of Jesus. Perhaps we need to remember that Christ came for everyone and we need only believe and act as Jesus instructed. Perhaps it is time we acknowledge and understand that we should understand whose we are and how we are to act in light of what has been done for us.