It is widely believed that Jesus Christ was the perfect Master Mentor – He spent a few years with a few mentees and changed the world. One night I had a dream that I had an opportunity to have a discussion with the Master Mentor and it went something like this:

“David, wake up.”

“Huh? Who is it?”

“It’s me.”

“Who?”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m here to talk to you.”

As I sat up in the dark, wiping the crust from my eyelids, I wondered who could be speaking to me in such an ethereal tone.

“You called me, so here I am. What can I do for you?”

“I called you? I don’t even know who you are,” I replied, confused.

“I am here to answer the questions you lifted in prayer.”

“God? Are you God? I can’t see you. Where are you?”

“It doesn’t matter right now. What would you like to know?”

“Let me get this straight. I can ask you anything I want?”

“You’d better hurry. I have another appointment this evening. I’ll give you three questions.”

I quickly thought about what I wanted to know, and then I asked, “Why did you create Hurricane Katrina?”

“Hurricanes are a part of nature. They are a part of the natural laws of the world like gravity. Can you imagine what would happen to the world if I stopped natural laws? By the way, you didn’t hear about the old lady that I caused to move one inch during the hurricane to avoid a deadly flying object or the young baby that mysteriously was found tied to a branch? Who do you think created those miracles and thousand others that went un-noticed during the storm? Next question?”

“Okay… Why is there so much hatred in the world?”

“Flip it around. Why is there so little love in the world?”

“I don’t know.”

“True love is unconditional. It’s not based on what you do. That’s the lesson that Jesus taught. With no strings attached, He gave his life unconditionally for you and everyone else. The world today places a condition on almost every relationship.”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

“It is because relationships are made up of imperfect people that will inevitably fail at some point. Next question?”

“Hmm… Why does life have to be so hard? Why can’t we just be blessed with everything we need at birth?”

“If that were the case, you would never grow into the person that I know you are capable of becoming. Think of your life like a flower. The warm rays of the sun are the good times, but no flower can live on just the sun, and neither can you. The rain or hard times come not to break you down, but to help you grow. Please be comforted that I promise not to put any more on you than you can bear.”

I sighed, comforted by the reply, but still with one last burning question.

“I’ve always wondered why did so many people that I loved have to pass away?”

“First, passing is not a period, it’s a pause. Second, they never belonged to you just as you don’t belong to you. Every person will eventually pause, some will pause to something good… others will pause to something not so good. Your job is to make sure that you pause to something good because your loved ones are on the other side of the pause waiting for you. I have to go now, anything else?”

“Yep, I’m sorry about the time I…”

“Don’t worry, I was there and knew your heart. Don’t worry, it’s covered.”

“And I’m sorry about the…”

“I know. It’s covered too.”

“I’m embarrassed that you know about all of my faults.”

“I do, but know that they are all covered. Now, go back to sleep. You’ve got a busy day tomorrow.”

“Will you be there?”

“I am always with you. Good night.”

“Good night.”