"I Am"

One night the Lord appeared to me.
"Lord," I said, "tell me some of the things happening around the world right now."

The Lord replied, "There's a black woman in New York. She's been diagnosed with leukemia. She has eight months to live. She can't afford her three children's education anymore. They live out in the streets. Her boyfriend abandoned them. If they don't get help soon, the three orphans will not survive the coming winter."

"There's a Christian family of three in China, where Christianity is persecuted against. The woman is pregnant with another child. The son has to constantly hide from officials. He's only five years old. They can't afford to move away. The husband must work 80 hours a week to provide food for the family. She's due in fifteen weeks. The child will be found soon, and they'll force an abortion on the mother, just 12 days before she would have given birth. The abortion pill will claim the life of the mother. The father will commit suicide in his despair."

"There's a fifteen year old who's using drugs right now. He's been abusing them since he was twelve. He suffers from severe depression whenever he isn't high. If he doesn't quit, he'll overdose in 3 months. His widowed father is under severe stress, as all the money he makes is being stolen to fund his son's drugs. After his son overdoses, he'll go insane, and wander the streets."

Upon hearing these sad tales, I said, "Lord, why do these things happen? Why do we have homeless and sick and dying and pain? Surely, there must be someone to help them." To which the Lord replied, "Indeed, there is always someone to help them, but most never find the strength. Some of them do help, but it just isn't enough. Most are greedy of time and money."

I said "Lord, who has let these people suffer?!"

The Lord said, calmly, "Many people have. You have. What have you done for the poor at the bus stops? What have you done for your friend on drugs? What have you done for the sick and dying? What have you done for any of these people?"

At this, I angrily said, "What have you done for any of these people?!"

The Lord smiled and said gently, "I have carried these people throughout their lives. I have been their beacon of hope. I was with them in the ghettos. I was with them in the emergency room. I was with them at their first breath and their last breath."

Confused, I asked "Well. . . where were you when I needed you?"

"My dearest loved one," He said, "I was there at every time you needed me. I was the food you ate when you were hungry, the drink you drank when you were thirsty, the clothes you wore, the house you lived in, the bed you slept in. I was all these things. . . I am all these things. I am your mother, your father, your sisters, and your brothers. I am your friends, your classmates, and your teachers. I am the poor man you pass by everyday. I am the orphaned. I am the sick. I am the dying. I am the lonely. I am the depressed. . . I am you."

"How can this be?" said I.

"I have lived through everyone's lives. I am their strength and hope. But some fight me, and others ignore me. And by this, they ruin the beauty I had planned for them. Still others affect the good peoples, hurting them and forcing them into misfortune. But let it be known that I am with them. Let it be known that my name is "I Am". It is not "I Was" or "I Will Be". It is "I Am", and I am with you."