Words of Comfort – June Onkundi’s Family

Why is life so unfair? If God is all-powerful, why does He not prevent pain and suffering? If God is all-knowing, why does He not stop what He knows will happen? Why are some born with illnesses and others are not? Why do bad things happen to good people? So many questions and so few answers.

I didn’t know June, but what I’ve learned about her from her beloved sister Eunice is that she was a loyal sister and loving sibling. June was grateful that God sent her away with a Bible and a copy of Steps to Christ. Before the tragic events of October 18, 2022, June and Eunice were communicating via text messages as they had often done. But on this occasion, they had a conversation about life, and June said, Dad gave me the Bible and Steps to Christ for a purpose, and she also said, “When your work is done on earth, your time is up. God grants everyone an allotted time to live.” Eunice never thought this would be the last time she would talk with her sister. What a terrible tragedy! Others who loved June and knew her might not be sitting well with the “When your time’s up” statement. You may be asking, “Why now, and why June, and why that way?

The Bible gives us a glimpse into the true-life story of John the Baptist, the cousin of Jesus. He was a faithful servant of God. Jesus described him as the greatest prophet who had ever lived. He always stood for what was right. He didn’t care what your position or status in society was; he would always deliver the truth, no matter the cost.

His penchant for truth-telling got him in trouble with King Herod. You see, Herod had married his brother’s wife (while his brother was still alive and married to her), and John the Baptist wasn’t having any of that. John’s straight talk to the king landed him in a filthy prison. As he was languishing in prison, his faith in Christ was severely challenged. If this Christ was indeed the Messiah, why didn’t He come to the rescue and deliver His cousin from prison? We are told when John heard about the miracles Jesus was doing, he sent two of his disciples to ask Jesus a pointed question, […], “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” (Matthew 11:2–3, NKJV) In other words, “Since I am still in prison and you have the power to free me but are not lifting a finger, are you the One, or should I wait for another deliverer?”

Did you know that if the bus that was carrying hockey players on April 6, 2018, from Humboldt had left just 10 to 15 seconds earlier or later, the tractor-trailer driven by Jaskirat Singh Sidhu would have gone through the same stop sign without any incident? He would have arrived safely to deliver his packages without any loss of life. Those young men in the prime of their lives would have made it to their hockey tournament alive and well. Why didn’t God intervene and delay the bus by just 15 seconds? There have been reports of numerous attempts on the life of Vladimir Putin; forget the attempts; what if God allowed him to stumble and fall down the stairs of his palace and die? About 200 000 die in the world daily. Why not Putin? Then someone moderate like his predecessor Gorbachev could take over and end this pointless war that is killing thousands and destabilizing the entire world. So many people stumble and fall to their death; why not Putin? Do you know how the story of John the Baptist ends? He was beheaded by King Herod through the manipulation of his unlawfully wedded wife.

So why June? Why now? I have no answers to these questions. But the Bible says, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, […]” (Deuteronomy 29:29, NKJV). I don’t know of anyone on this planet who can answer these heart-wrenching questions, but the text continues by saying, “[…], but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, […].” (Deuteronomy 29:29, NKJV).

God’s Book reveals to us that He is not the author of evil. He didn’t invent sin, suffering and death. God’s Book reveals to us who the author of sin is, that crafty dragon of old called the devil and Satan. June is no longer with us because of the existence of evil. It’s that simple. There is no explanation for the existence of evil because evil is nonsense, and we cannot make sense of nonsense. We cannot reason out evil because evil is unreasonable. It’s inexcusable. It should have never been, but here we are.

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children [ . . .].” (Deuteronomy 29:29, NKJV) The existence of evil is inexcusable, and the Bible tells us that God is going to have to remove and extricate it from the universe. But many of us are still attached to evil; we are often attracted and seduced by evil, known by another name, sin. If God were to act right now in wiping sin out of existence from the universe, many of us would be wiped out with it, and the Bible tells us, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9, NIV) Sadly many will perish, but God is working hard to limit the damages. For now, God is taking the blame for all the suffering and death that takes place under the sun. But a time is coming when God will set the record straight.

God has His work cut out for Him. He diligently works to prove that evil is not something to play with. Suppose you have a rebellious teenager with a close friend that is up to no good, but your child is oblivious about the character of his friend, let’s call his friend Damion Slayton. Every time Damion comes to the house a little later, something valuable goes missing. There is always a window left ajar and footprints on the floor below the window, making it appear that a thief came in.

One day, your child’s PlayStation 5 goes missing. Your child cries out, “I told you to install a security system, but you just don’t care! Damion warned me about parents like you.” What would be the best way to reveal to your child that Damion is the culprit? You have one of three choices. One, you can accuse Damion in front of your son, two, you could ban Damion from ever coming to the house again and put a guard dog outside; or three, you could allow Damion to show his true colours when your child is present.

So, as a wise parent, you allow Damion to reveal who he is without any accusation from you. You ensure the family is home during an unusual time knowing that this is when Damion usually strikes. As your son enters his room, low and behold, guess who’s there pocketing your son’s favourite watch and emptying his wallet of the cash inside–you guessed it, Damion. Your son has caught Damion red-handed. He sees for himself that Damion is not someone that can be trusted. To make matters worse, while Damion is trying to explain his way out of this impossible situation, his knapsack falls off his shoulders and many items that had gone missing spill out onto the floor. Your teenager realizes that he was wrong about Damion and wrong about you. He reconciles with you and cuts off all contact with Damion Slayton.

Friends, that’s exactly what God is doing. He is allowing the enemy to reveal to all that he is bent on the destruction of humanity. Sin is not our friend. God is working hard to prove to us that the wages of sin is indeed death. So our patient, long-suffering God waits and waits, and beckons, and woos us to make a decision in favour of life and reject death. My favourite author shares some insight on the subject of the existence of sin and evil.

For the good of the entire universe through ceaseless ages Satan must more fully develop his principles, that his charges against the divine government might be seen in their true light by all created beings, that the justice and mercy of God and the immutability of His law might forever be placed beyond all question.

Satan’s rebellion was to be a lesson to the universe through all coming ages, a perpetual testimony to the nature and terrible results of sin. The working out of Satan’s rule, its effects upon both men and angels, would show what must be the fruit of setting aside the divine authority. It would testify that with the existence of God’s government and His law is bound up the well-being of all the creatures He has made. Thus the history of this terrible experiment of rebellion was to be perpetual safeguard to all holy intelligences, to prevent them from being deceived as to the nature of transgression, to save them from committing sin and suffering its punishments.[1]

So, I cannot answer the questions why June, why now, why Humboldt, but the Good Book does reveal to us why God permits suffering. We are told why He permitted the death and suffering of His Son—to safeguard the universe, so that throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity, we will be 100% convinced of God’s undying, limitless love for all creation, and we will never choose to go against Him again. When God wraps things up and proves His case beyond a shadow of a doubt, Nahum 1:9 says, “[…]? {God] will make [a complete] end of [sin, suffering and death]. [Oppression, evil, sin] will not rise up a second time.” (Nahum 1:9, NKJV)

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, [ . . .].” (Deuteronomy 29:29, NKJV)Friends, Again, God’s Book exposes who the author of death is, who is the one who delights in suffering and death. It is written, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. […].” (John 10:10, NKJV). I can imagine that creepy, frightening smug smile on his face as his watches in glee the terrible results of his rebellion. But halleluiah, God’s Book does reveal to us that Jesus wiped that smug smile off the devil’s mug when He broke through the tomb on resurrection morning. And God’s Book reveals to us that Jesus will permanently wipe that grin away when as Revelation says, death and the grave is thrown into the lake of fire. When that time comes, we’ll be able to sing and dance like David danced. We’ll be able to sing the lyrics to that funeral dirge for death and the grave, ““[…]: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O Death, where is your sting? O {grave], where is your victory?”” (1 Corinthians 15:54–55, NKJV). But until that time, Eunice, keep holding onto the hand that is holding onto you, until that time, Eunice, God will give the strength to minister to your sisters children, lavishing them with your love. The time is coming, and it’s even at the door when we who believe will all be changed, in the twinkling of an eye, those who have the Son of life living in them shall be changed. But until that time, Eunice, keep praying so that heaven comes down and glory fills your soul, keep shouting halleluiahs when the Spirit of God stirs you up so that you cannot keep silent. Until that time, keep offering strong words of encouragement to those who are in need. Until that time,

May your struggles keep you near the cross And may your troubles show that you need God And may your battles end the way they should And may your bad days prove that God is good And may your whole life prove that God is good

[1] Ellen Gould White, The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan, vol. 5, Conflict of the Ages Series (Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1911), 499.