I am what I am...

As a kid one of my favorite cartoons was Popeye the Sailor. His self-evaluation was “I am what I am and that’s all that I am”.

  I’m thinking today is that a good guiding principle for life?  I am what I am, and that’s it?  Am I stuck with my flaws and my sins?  Thankfully not.  Jesus spoke in Matthew 18 about the necessity and possibility for personal change.  In yesterday’s post I wrote about the first of His list of demands to be great in His Kingdom.  I’ve dubbed them the “Anti-Qualities of greatness. Today I’ll wrap it up by looking at the last two.

When I strive to be great a prominent  flaw that crops up in me is self-centeredness.  I naturally push to the front of the line, attempt to get noticed and work for the approval of people around me.  Yet Jesus instructed that I shift my attention from myself to others.  Regarding the little children around Him he said: See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. Matthew 18:10.  Engaging in comparisons is a surefire sign that I’m thinking about me first.  We do this when we build ourselves up by tearing people down. Perhaps we’re not saying anything to them, but we may berate them to others, all to feel better about ourselves. That’s the way of the world, the old nature, but not for a follower of Jesus.

To wrap up the teaching Jesus brings up the issue of forgiving others. He tells the story of the servant who had been forgiven a huge, un-payable debt (in the millions of dollars).  The lender sent him on his way totally forgiven of the debt.  You would think from that point forward this fortunate soul would extend the same grace he had received to others.  But as you probably know he had the gall to demand full payment from a neighbor of just a few dollars.  Because the hapless man could not pay he had the him thrown into debtor’s prison. Those who observed this were rightfully shocked and reported it to the lender who rescinded his offer of forgiveness and had the unmerciful guy thrown into prison where he would be tortured until he could pay his debt.  Jesus ends with this warning: This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart. Matthew 18:35

What!  I am to forgive others, and do it from my heart!? I can see forgiving others with my mouth, but from my heart is another matter. These two commands, two qualities that are demanded of me before I could begin to say “I’m great in God’s Kingdom” are simply too much for me.  I cannot by an act of my will change my self-centeredness.  Nor by just putting my mind to it can I forgive people who hurt me.  I’m afraid that “I am what I am and that’s all that I am”.  When Jesus called me to change He didn’t lob me a softball.  He called me to basic character transformation, an overwhelming task.  It takes a miracle only He can accomplish this in my life.  Only He can change me from what I am to what he envisions me to be.

Paul said, Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (Contemporary English Version) I know that the new creation Jesus offers covers not only my past sin, but my current character flaws.  He sets the bar high because only with His power can we ever achieve it.  Then He gets the credit and the glory, not me. With Christ’s transforming life working in me I can truly change!

I’d like to hear from you today.  We are not stuck with who we are.  Jesus changes us. How is Jesus changing you?  What’s the challenge for change that He’s laid out for you today?