It’s part of a pastor’s ministry.  I’m honored to do it, yet at the same time I wish I didn’t have to.  I officiated another funeral this week.  A funeral of a faithful member of the Berean family.  It was a mixture of grief for the family’s and our church’s loss as well as joy for our sister who is now well and whole and, best of all, in the presence of the Savior.  The road she traveled over the last few months was not an easy one, but it ended gloriously as she was ushered into her heavenly home.  And here’s something to consider: we are all on the road to eternity.  At some point, some way, some day we will all be there.  The most important thing is to be ready, to know Christ, and to have the assurance through Him that Heaven will be our eternal destiny.  I surely hope you have that assurance.  Then, for those who know Christ, we must be committed to serve him all our days, faithfully and joyfully following His lead until that final step.  This morning, Tina shared something with me that beautifully illustrates this.  It’s seen in the life of Anna Kay Scott, a missionary who served in India and then China in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.  It’s summed up in something she shared in the twilight years of her life: “I shall never lose life’s zest, because the last turn in the road will be the best.”  The Apostle Paul said it this way in Acts 20:24: “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.”  Lord, keep us all faithful until that “last turn in the road.”