He Walks With Me
My grandmother was a church organist, and my brothers and I sang hymns with her all the time. When my grandfather died, we sang “In the Garden” at his funeral. “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.”
C. Austin Miles wrote this song in the spring of 1912 after reading John 20. “As I read it that day, I seemed to be part of the scene,” Miles shared. “I became a silent witness to that dramatic moment in Mary’s life when she knelt before her Lord and cried. ‘Rabboni (Teacher)!’”
Mary’s emotion takes center stage in John 20:11-18. Both the angels and the Risen Lord ask: “Woman, why are you crying?” She responds, “They have taken my Lord away!” (v. 13)
The angels and Jesus knew why she was crying, but this is where Jesus meets her. When he says her name – “Mary” – she recognizes Him (v. 16) Jesus meets her where she is in her grief and confusion.
We, too, have the assurance that Jesus is risen! Jesus is now in heaven with His Father, but He hasn’t left us on our own. When we believe in Jesus, we have His Spirit inside us. The song says it all – “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.”
May you sing this song today and know that we, too, can see the Lord!
Prayer – Jesus, I’m so thankful You are alive and that I can be your child this day. May we know that You walk and talk to us each day. Amen.
John 20:18 – Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!”
By the Rev. Tommy Herndon
Images: iStock Photos, Jad Limcaco & Brian Mann, courtesy of Unsplash