I LOST a good friend this week. Eddie was a chaplaincy volunteer and an inspirational man. He had been a paramedic and then became a prison chaplain amongst many other things.

And my friendship with him grew because, on retirement, he became a hospital volunteer.

Eddie had a strong faith. He always maintained that Jesus died for him and that he was saved and going to heaven. He was certain about this for himself.

But with patients, he showed compassion and empathy. He never once preached to them, but they could see in his life that his faith was central to him.

He was a patient listener, and that extended to me.

Many a time I have ranted at him and he has shared words of wisdom; and in case you think I’m making him out to be a saint, we also talked about motorbikes and family and many other things.

Like a lot of medical staff, Eddie hated being a patient. But when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, he endured the radiotherapy treatment and was so grateful to the staff.

Time together is what binds us

And when he heard that the cancer had spread to his bones, he asked us to pray for healing, and went through the chemotherapy. Sadly his condition worsened.

The disease had spread to his lungs and when I saw him on Thursday week he was at home sitting on his chair with oxygen.

When the news came that he was in St Richard’s Hospice, we knew that this part of his journey was coming to an end.

And as I sat with him and his family, his faith still shone through. He talked about the wonder of salvation and the security of being a Christian.

He asked if I would “do the honours” and take his funeral. And then he told me that he knew where his final destination was. “I want to go home and be with the Lord”.

Eddie was a fan of the great Victorian Baptist preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon from whom he gained much comfort: “The best moment of a Christian’s life is his last one, because it is the one that is nearest heaven.”

And so on Monday, Eddie went to be home to heaven.”