It has been said that (and as with many things, it might be true, it might be not – but even if it’s not, it’s still quite plausible), when the Times Newspaper wrote to some notable people asking them ‘What is wrong with the world?’, GK Chesterton answered with what is probably the second shorted letter to The Times: “I am”.
It takes a certain humility (or maybe it’s just honesty) to admit that you’re wrong when you are – and some people continue to deny they are wrong in the face of clear evidence to the contrary.
But, unless you know the problem, and own the problem, you’re not going to find a solution to the problem. And if the problem is quite as stark as ‘I am’, what kind of solution could there possibly be?
Chesterton also wrote a poem called Ultimate, where the words ‘I am’ become the bankrupt creed of one who denies God. But the poem ends by drawing our attention to the notion that, although ‘I am’ can be a proud boast on human lips, it also speaks of the Creator. Because it’s His Name.
I am the problem and “I am” is the answer.
Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” John 8:58
Raymond