I attended a funeral last week. It was a nice service, a fitting memorial to a man who deserved all that and more. I’ve been to lots of funerals, but this one was a little different. This one was a milestone that marked a significant point in life, much like getting your drivers license or graduating from high school.
The man we were laying to rest was a pastor friend that had been part of my life for more than forty years. When I was just a boy, he delivered a sermon in our church that still preaches to me. (It was Is This Your Present Address? just in case you were wondering). And when I felt the call to the ministry as a young man, he was one of the first to graciously invite me to preach in his pulpit. And more telling than that, after hearing my first attempt, he still invited me back occasionally.