In the Garden

Thanks for joining us for this edition of the Our Daily Bread Devotional. Allison Keeter wrote today's reading and titled it, In the Garden. My dad loved to sing the old hymns.

One of his favorites was In the Garden. A few years back we sang it at his funeral. The chorus is simple, and he walks with me, and he talks with me, and he tells me I am his own, and the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known. That song brought joy to my dad, as it does to me. Hymnwriter C. Austin Miles says he wrote this song in spring, 1912, after reading chapter 20 of the Gospel of John.

As I read it that day, it seemed to be part of the scene. I became a silent witness to that dramatic moment in Mary's life when she knelt before her Lord and cried, Rabboni, or teacher. In John 20, we find Mary Magdalene weeping near Jesus' empty tomb.

There, she met a man who asked why she was crying. Thinking it was the gardener, she spoke with the risen Savior, Jesus. Her sorrow turned to joy, and she ran to tell the disciples, I have seen the Lord. We too have the assurance that Jesus is risen. He's now in heaven with the Father, but He hasn't left us on our own.

Believers in Christ have His Spirit inside us, and through Him, we have the assurance and joy of knowing He's with us, and we are His own. Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, Woman, why are you crying? They have taken my Lord away, she said, and I don't know where they have put Him. At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. He asked her, Woman, why are you crying?

Who is it you are looking for? Thinking He was the gardener, she said, Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have put Him and I will get Him. Jesus said to her, Mary.

She turned toward Him and cried out in Aramaic, Rabboni, which means teacher. Jesus said, Do not hold on to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to My brothers and tell them, I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.

Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news, I have seen the Lord, and she told them that He had said these things to her. Let's pray. Dear Jesus, we rejoice that You rose again from the dead and through Your Spirit are alive in us. We thank You for calling us Yours and for promising to never leave us. No matter what comes against us, we are secure and safe in Your hands, and we are so thankful for that. It's in Your gracious name that we pray. Amen. Today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.