A Tribute to Mark Tunell

Yesterday, April 17th, at 4:35 P.M. a man I never knew, Mark Tunell, passed away due to a brain tumor. Like I said I never knew him but I have good friends who did. By all accounts he was a wonderful Christian, husband, and daddy. Although we never met I consider him a brother in Christ and was deeply saddened when I heard of his passing. I felt grief for his wife and three small children and joy for him as he is now with Jesus.

Today as I look at various web pages I see tributes to him that he no doubt was deserving of. A lot of the postings say something like "A great man lost his fight to a brain tumor yesterday." Please understand I do not mean to put down those who wrote that as I know it was written with the best of intentions. I want to be clear though and make sure everyone understands:

Mark Tunell did not lose his fight, HE WAS VICTORIOUS, HE IS VICTORIOUS!!!!!

Mark was victorious in at least two ways through his trial.

First, the moment in time when Mark layed his life in front of Jesus and submitted to his will, Mark's victory was sealed. In Paul's first letter to Corinth he writes of this victory:

"For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Because Mark gave his life to Jesus, through the power of Jesus, Mark was victorious over death and now lives eternally with the Lord Jesus.

Secondly, as John Piper puts it, "All experiences of suffering in the path of Christian obedience, whether from persecution or sickness or accident, have this in common: They all threaten our faith in the goodness of God and tempt us to leave the path of obedience." In Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus he writes of the battle to leave the path of obedience that Mark certainly faced:

"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."

Undoubtedly, Mark was temped to question the goodness of God and his will in Mark's life. From the accounts I have been told, Mark never left the path of obedience. He was strong, brave, and faithful as a Christian, husband and father to the end. Because of Mark's obedience and faithfulness God is glorified which is the ultimate purpose for all of our lives. I praise God that Mark was able to fulfill that purpose so amazingly and faithfully. Through the power of Jesus, Mark was victorious in his obedience to our heavenly father. HE WAS VICTORIOUS!

"Therefore, every triumph of faith and all perseverance in obedience are testimonies to the goodness of God and the preciousness of Christ—whether the enemy is sickness, Satan, sin, or sabotage. Therefore, all suffering, of every kind, that we endure in the path of our Christian calling is a suffering “with Christ”and “for Christ.” With Him in the sense that the suffering comes to us as we are walking with Him by faith and in the sense that it is endured in the strength He supplies through His sympathizing high-priestly ministry(Hebrews 4:15). For Him in the sense that the suffering tests and proves our allegiance to His goodness and power and in the sense that it reveals His worth as an all-sufficient compensation and prize."

"The pearl of greatest price is the glory of Christ. Thus, Paul stresses that in our sufferings the glory of Christ’s all-sufficient grace is magnified. If we rely on Him in our calamity and He sustains our “rejoicing in hope,” then He is shown to be the all-satisfying God of grace and strength that He is." I am thankful and inspired that Mark was able to do this. "If we hold fast to Him “when all around our soul gives way,” then we show that He is more to be desired than all we have lost. Christ said to the suffering apostle,"

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Paul responded to this:

“Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9–10).

So suffering clearly is designed by God not only as a way to wean Christians off of self and onto grace, but also as a way to spotlight that grace and make it shine. That is precisely what faith does; it magnifies Christ’s future grace."

I wish I could have known Mark. I am thankful though that his story and legacy of faithfulness, obedience, and victory lives on. I am thankful for Jesus and the strength he gave to Mark through his trial. I am thankful that Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected so that Mark could be with him forever.

As soon as I heard about Mark's story I began to pray for him and for his family. I prayed that God would heal him and make him whole again. When I heard of his death I was grieved. Then I read the words written by his wife telling people of his passing:

"Mark's pain and suffering has ended and he is now with the Lord in Paradise. I feel comforted in knowing that I helped cheer him on as he took the first steps into his new life. I told him that it was ok to go, that he needs to let God make him whole again."

Thank you Jesus for healing Mark, for making him whole again and for the story you were able to tell through his life.

For more information on Mark you can click here. If you are interested in helping out his family in any way please contact me at rlg024@gmail.com and I will put you in touch with the right people.