A Popeye Mentality

Years ago one of the early animated features was Popeye the sailor man. I always enjoyed watching Popeye rescue his girlfriend Olive Oil. In so doing he had to defeat Brutus his archenemy. The key to all of Popeye's success was the power he gained from eating spinach. Whenever his strength grew weak he would down a can of spinach and immediately be propelled to victory. He would always say, "I am what I am and that's what I am. I'm Popeye the sailor man."

The other day I read in I Corinthians 15:10, "By the grace of God I am what I am." It was the phrase "I am what I am" that reminded me of the Popeye character. While Popeye was nothing more than a fictional character, I saw some parallels. We are in a constant battle with God's archenemy Satan. He constantly tries to conquer us at times of weakness. He puts forth every effort to keep us from ministering to the needs of others whom he has captured. When we oppose him in our own strength we will always fail. But we have a resource. We have a source of unlimited power. That source is Christ in us. Whenever we draw upon his power we are propelled to victory in our personal lives and enabled to rescue others from the enemy's grasp.

When we say "by the grace of God I am what I am" there are many things included. I am a friend of God whereas I used to be an enemy. I am a personal representative of God in the world in which I live. I am a servant on behalf of God to those who have needs. Most wonderfully, I am an object of Jesus love and a channel through which his love may be experienced by those in captivity to the enemy. What a privilege to be what I am in Christ Jesus.