“Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” –John 8:36
We’ve always enjoyed watching fireworks over the lake when we have the opportunity. There’s something about the reflection on the water that makes the display feel a little more special.
This year, we’ll be spending the evening with our pastor and several couples from church. While I’m looking forward to the fireworks, I’m just as excited about the fellowship. There’s something sweet about gathering with friends, sharing stories, and enjoying a summer tradition together.
As I’ve been thinking about that evening, I’ve also been thinking about what we’ll all be celebrating.
Freedom.
Every Fourth of July we pause to remember the sacrifices that secured the freedoms we enjoy as Americans. We celebrate the ability to worship freely, speak freely, and live in a country where liberty is valued and protected. Freedom is something we cherish because we understand that it came at a cost.
Most people would probably define freedom as the ability to do what they want. Freedom means making our own choices, living independently, and not being under someone else’s control. That’s how our culture tends to think about it. Yet when Jesus spoke about freedom, He approached it from a completely different perspective.
In John 8, Jesus was speaking to a group of people who considered themselves free. They weren’t sitting in prison cells. They weren’t wearing chains. In fact, they were offended by the suggestion that they needed to be set free from anything. Yet Jesus looked at them and said, “Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.” (John 8:34)
That’s a startling statement because it forces us to rethink what bondage actually looks like.
Most of us picture slavery as something obvious and visible. But Jesus was talking about a different kind of captivity—the kind that lives in the human heart. He was teaching that a person can appear free on the outside while being completely controlled on the inside.
I think most of us would admit that we know exactly what that looks like.
We know what it’s like to be controlled by fear. To lie awake at night replaying every possible outcome of a situation we can’t control. We know what it’s like to be driven by the approval of others, constantly worrying about what people think of us. We know what it’s like to carry bitterness long after we’ve convinced ourselves we’ve moved on, or to be trapped in cycles of worry, pride, comparison, anger, or guilt.
The reality is that whatever consistently controls our thoughts, dictates our emotions, and steals our peace has become a type of master in our lives.
That realization can be a little uncomfortable when we think about it. We often assume slavery is something that happens to other people, not something that could describe us. Yet perhaps it’s worth asking ourselves: What has the greatest influence over my thoughts these days? What steals my peace most quickly? What do I find myself running to when life feels uncertain?
The answers to those questions may reveal more about our freedom—or our lack of it—than we’d like to admit.
And that’s where the gospel becomes so much bigger than many of us realize.
Jesus didn’t come merely to forgive individual sins. He came to break the power of sin itself. Scripture teaches that apart from Christ, we are not simply people who occasionally sin—we are people born under the dominion of sin. Romans 6 describes us as slaves to sin, unable to free ourselves no matter how hard we try.
That means salvation is more than having our record wiped clean. It’s more than receiving a ticket to heaven someday. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus not only paid the penalty for our sin, He broke its authority. He released us from a master we could never escape on our own.
This is one of the beautiful truths we sometimes overlook. Christ didn’t simply make forgiveness available; He made freedom possible. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead now works in those who belong to Him. Sin is no longer our master. It may still tempt us, but it no longer owns us. It may still fight against us, but it no longer has ultimate authority over us.
Yet many of us still live as though the chains are attached.
We carry shame Christ has already paid for. We continue rehearsing failures God has already forgiven. We cling to fears that have no rightful authority over us. We say we believe we’re free, yet we often continue living as captives.
Maybe you’ve experienced that yourself. Perhaps God has forgiven something that you still haven’t forgiven yourself for. Maybe He’s repeatedly proven His faithfulness, yet fear continues to dictate your decisions. Or perhaps you’ve spent so long carrying a burden that you can’t imagine what it would feel like to set it down.
What if the very thing you’ve accepted as “just the way I am” is actually a chain Christ intends for you to leave behind?
Maybe that’s why the story of Israel is so relatable. God delivered them from Egypt through miraculous displays of power. He broke their physical slavery and led them toward freedom. Yet even after their chains were gone, their hearts kept looking back toward Egypt. The bondage was over, but the mindset remained.
Again and again, they longed for what was familiar, even when what was familiar had once enslaved them. It’s easy to read those stories and wonder how they could have forgotten God’s faithfulness so quickly. Yet before we’re too hard on them, we should probably admit that we do the same thing.
How often do we return to prisons God has already opened? How often do we carry burdens Christ has already lifted? How often do we allow old masters to influence us even though they no longer own us?
As I thought about that, I found myself wondering if there are areas of my own life where my thinking hasn’t caught up with my freedom. Areas where I know the truth of God’s Word, yet still respond as though fear, worry, approval, or guilt has the final say.
Maybe that’s worth considering this week. Not whether Christ has set us free—that part is settled. The better question might be: Am I living like someone who is free?
As I sit on that boat this weekend watching fireworks burst across the night sky, I’ll be joined by millions of people across America who will be celebrating freedom, and rightly so. But as grateful as I am for the freedoms we enjoy as Americans, there is a greater freedom worth celebrating.
It’s the freedom that was purchased at the cross.
The freedom that releases us from the penalty of sin and the power of sin.
The freedom that reminds us we no longer belong to fear, guilt, shame, or the endless pressure to save ourselves.
Because true freedom isn’t simply the ability to do whatever we want.
True freedom is finally being released to become who God created us to be.
Your Heart Sister,
Mikki 💜
The greatest freedom Christ gives isn’t freedom from rules—it’s freedom from the things that once ruled us.
Lord, thank You for the freedom we have in Christ. Thank You that You didn’t just forgive our sin, but You broke its power over our lives. So often we continue carrying burdens You never intended us to carry. Help us recognize the areas where we’re still living as though the chains are attached. Teach us to trust You more, rest in Your grace, and walk in the freedom You have given us. As we celebrate freedom this week, remind us of the greatest freedom of all—the freedom found in belonging to You. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.