This page is for thoughts relative to Matthew 28:16-20, Jesus' precious departing assignment before His Ascension:

¹⁶ Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (NIV)

17 09 24

While singing one of my favorite hymns in Church today, "In the Garden," by C. Austin Miles¹, I noticed something I had not noticed in the many times I had sung that song.  (When has that ever happened before???  ;-)~ ):

As you read/sing this, pay attention to the 3rd verse before the last chorus.

Verse 1

"I come to the garden alone,
While the dew is still on the roses;
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear,
The Son of God discloses.

Chorus:

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.

Verse 2

He speaks, and the sound of His voice
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing;
And the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing.

Chorus:

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.

Verse 3

I’d stay in the garden with Him
Though the night around me be falling;
But He bids me go—thru the voice of woe,
His voice to me is calling.

Chorus:

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.

Verse 3 almost screams for a fourth verse--Where are we to go?  To what is His voice calling?  And why is His a voice of woe?     To the field--to sow the seed for the harvest of all those--woefully not yet His.

Here is a proposed fourth verse with that answer offered up by Chris and Carl Pinkham--

Stay not here though this joy is dear

To the fields of harvest be going

I must make it known, He’s not mine alone

He gives this seed for sowing:

And He’ll walk with them, and He’ll talk with them,
And He’ll tell them they are His own;
And the joy they share as they tarry there,
None other has ever known.

Footnotes

¹It turns out this is my sister, Annabelle's favorite hymn and was my mom's favorite.