A segment of our society wants to hold gun manufacturers culpable for what people do with their products after a sale. Whether the gun was purchased legally or stolen, these people want the gun manufacturers to be held unreasonably responsible for what is out of their control.

Now, this newsletter is not about guns and who is responsible. It is about blaming God for what people have done with their free will and not by our manufacturer, God.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth in six days. At the end of each day, he deemed it good. And all the days of the week would have remained good if not for misusing the manufacturer's guidelines. Adam misused the day, and by evening, it was not good.

So, who do you blame when a good product is used wrong? Well, Adam blamed both God and the woman he gave him. Paraphrased, it is not my fault it is this woman you gave me.

After six thousand years of mankind, we have not evolved one bit. We have been the same flesh and blood from the beginning, blaming the manufacturer for our fault for not following the guidelines.

God made the days for good, and man turned the day upside down for evil. Something will go wrong whenever we use a product outside its intended purpose.

Guns and weapons were made for self-defense, hunting, and recreation, but the evil heart of man has used the gun to kill, steal, and destroy what God created for good.

Blaming gun manufacturers for what people do outside of the purpose and guidelines is ridiculous. And so is blaming God for what others choose to do. I have been ridiculous on more than a few occasions.

We blame God for the wife or husband he gave us. We blame God for the children he gave us. We blame God for friends, our job, the church, society, and anything else we can delegate to his fault, not ours. We even blame God for the freedom he gave us.

Allow me to show you a point of view from God's perspective. God takes quite a lot of hits and losses. Most of us would sink into a depression we couldn't get out of if we took the amount of losses God has.

The Book of Hebrews tells us that Angels were created to serve the heirs of salvation. Some teach that God created Angels to be his sons until they fell from grace, and then God repurposed them and created man to take their place. Not true. God created Angels to serve what was coming next—us.

However, like man, angels are given free will. And like man, they rebelled against the manufacturer's guidelines and tried to reidentify themselves. The Book of Revelation suggests as many as one-third of the angels have or will rebel against God.

Before God used man to teach the law or preach the good news, God sent Angels to teach men the ways of the Lord. But we find out in the days of Noah that these Angels rebelled against God and took an interest in the daughters of man, creating a new hybrid race of angelic beings and men. God made a judgment call and wiped the world clean with a flood, saving only eight people to begin again.

God then dispatched another legion or two of Angels to teach the ways of the Lord to Noah and the generations to come. But this group of Angels also rebelled like those before the flood. This time, God didn't destroy the world with a flood because of his earlier promise to both men and beasts. However, God did stop the unlawful procreation of angels and man, I don't know how, and then dispatched men of courage to destroy these giants. We see Caleb take on the giants from the days of Moses, and we see David and his mighty men remove the remaining giants from the face of the earth.

God created Angels for good, but many decided to go bad and do their will on earth, not God. God took losses when he twice sent a delegation of goodwill toward men. When Jesus was born, another group of Angels was dispatched, and they remained faithful to the manufacturer's requirements. A message of goodwill toward men was heard and received joyfully.

A few of those disobedient Angles are still active on the earth. Paul warns us of the Angels of light who bring a different gospel. One of those angels was named Lucifer. God made Lucifer for good. God made him so good and so beautiful that Lucifer thought both God and man ought to bow down and serve him.

But why would God allow Lucifer to tempt Eve in the garden? And why did Jesus, after defeating Satan at the cross, leave him as the God of this world to those who choose to bow to him?

Isn't that reason enough to blame God for both the confusion and wickedness that has come from the devil? No, that is not a good reason to blame the manufacture of all things good! God knows what he is doing. God is neither neglectful nor vindictive toward those who love him.

I assume you know about free will and what the world would be like if God hadn't granted it. But the answer to free will is incomplete. God hasn't thrown up his hands and is now waiting to see who will endure pain and suffering and still choose him.

Remember, God created the devil not for evil but for good. Lucifers chose to rebel against God's blessed intentions to exalt man to his right hand, which was never offered to Angels, which is probably why Lucifer rebelled out of envy and jealousy. Why should a creation that is so beautiful and perfect bow down and serve such a common creature that was made from the dirt of the earth?

Isaiah points out in chapter fifty-four and verses sixteen and seventeen that God created the destroyer or, in other translations, created the waster to destroy. But we are to fear not because no weapon formed against us shall prosper. And God knows how to control the destroyer.

God didn't create destruction, darkness, or the destroyer as we understand it. When God created free will, he made room for evil, destruction, and darkness to come into existence. When God created Lucifer with all the beauty and then gave him free will, it was Lucifer who decided how and where to use what God gave. When good is inverted, it is evil. We, too, can use what God has graciously given us for good or evil. God didn't create evil; he just gave room for the possibility for it to exist.

How many of us have blamed God for what we have done? God, if you wouldn't have allowed the devil in the garden and if you wouldn't have left the devil here after Jesus paid the penalty for sin, then we wouldn't be rebelling! Of course, we will find out that isn't true during the millennial reign of Christ, where Satan is bound up, and Jesus is ruling on the earth; sin will continue even without the tempter. But even then, man will blame the manufacturer.

We blame God for our bent toward sin. We blame God for falling short of our ambitions. We blame God for every evil under the sun. We say to the Potter, I don't like how you made me. Why can't I be more like so and so? I'm a failure because you failed me.

There is no temptation uncommon to man. Whatever we are tested with it is not personal. It has been the same temptations from the beginning. And God always gives us a way out to bear it. But like the tribes of Israel who were too afraid to stand and having done all, stand. They didn't stand against the enemy, who came with iron chariots. Instead, we blame God for our unfulfillment while hiding in caves.

God is not responsible for our pain and suffering or failure to obtain what we want. God deemed us good from creation. But we have all fallen short of the glory of God, being born into sin and shaped by the inequity of our culture. God has mercy for his fallen creation, which he deemed good initially. And because of this mercy, Jesus came and redeemed us for good! We can be redeemed if we have ears to hear and a heart of courage to abide in him.

We are saved for good works, not evil works. We will still suffer in a fallen world, but God has promised fellowship with him in the suffering and, eventually, a resurrected power to pull us out of the pit of despair. And if that isn't enough, He promises to recompense us for all we suffered, including suffering at the hands of our sinful choices! All because God is good. God doesn't love us as we are. God loves us because he is.

I know. I know. But why is there suffering if God has perfect visions across the past, present, and future? Why did God even give us life, knowing the pain we would suffer? Cursed is the day I was born! Job, a righteous man, has been there and asked the same questions of God.

Well, are you a parent? Then I could ask you the same thing. Why did you bring children into this world knowing the pain that awaits? Some reading this have not had children because of the pain.

Before I answer, let me remind you of the loss and pain of God. God lost one-third of his sent Angels. They rebelled against him in the garden, in the days of Noah, and even after the flood, and this may be ongoing.

And losses with his creation, man. God loses the majority of those who either once claimed him as Lord or still do so but with rebellion in their heart. Maybe he is at risk of losing you because of the anger in your heart that can't understand the ways and intentions of the heart of God.

Do you know how many disciples and ministers have walked away from the truth to do their own will? God gives wisdom without limit and no condemnation to those who ask. But knowledge can puff up and lead away from love. It doesn't have to, but many times it does. When God's people reach a certain level of fame, they begin thinking too highly of themselves looking to be served rather than serve. To whom much is given, much is required.

The love of money is the root of many evils. One of the evils of loving money is leaving faith behind trusting in uncertain riches. We can blame God for not having enough, then turn around and blame him for what we did with what he gave us.

Look at all the people in scripture who left Jesus because he was offensive on things they did not understand. And all the people who came to the house of the Lord to have their needs met asked to be excused to continue living their lives independently. We are not our own if the blood of Jesus has bought us.

I think of Samson, who became so enamored with his strength that he wanted to see just how much potential he had. So, Samson tempted God by intentionally placing himself in the temptation to see if he could break free. Samson found out it wasn't his hair that gave him strength but God. Like Lucifer, who got entangled in admiring himself, Samson flexes in the mirror; so goes many who claim Jesus as Lord. And they blame God when their will is not done on earth as it is in their heart. God has taken a lot of blows.

So why did God create mankind knowing the pain to follow? God's goodness is greater than the pain, and the suffering is only for a moment in light of eternity and the goodness he has in store for those who love him. In his wisdom and loving-kindness, God knew the pain would be for a night and worth the blessing that would endure forever.

God has not left us alone to fend for ourselves. God has equipped us to not only endure the pain but overcome the pain. Where evil resides, grace much more abides!

God does know our pain. There are even incidents where God regrets and repents for the pain and suffering in the world. God once repented for creating man because the world was so full of evil, crushing those whom he loved. God regrets making Saul king because of what Saul chose to do. God knows our pain and decides to enter it with us, not only through Jesus's life, death, and resurrection but also through the Holy Spirit, who intercedes for us when we are at our end and don't know what to do.

And finally, God will wipe away every tear from our faces so we can begin again in a world without sin and death.

I'm guilty of blaming the manufacturer on too many occasions—no judgment from me. But I do want you to understand something. Even though I have given you some understanding of why there is suffering and pain. Knowledge isn't the answer to emotional questions of the heart. The answer the heart needs is found in trusting God, knowing that he knows what he is doing and has our best interests at heart.

Faith in a loving God is the answer to our emotional sufferings. Even when we are at fault, God promises that all things will be used for our good if we love him through it and want his will to be done in our life more than our own will. As Christ's followers, our road is too narrow to blame the manufacturer and get off on the broad road to destruction.