When Jesus tells those gathered around Him that the truth will make them free, their response is almost immediate: “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?” They believe they are already free. Jesus sees something deeper: “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.”

Pastor Lindsey began Sunday's message with something most of us can easily agree upon: we want to be free. Nobody wants bondage or slavery. And yet, if we're truthful, there can be things that hold us captive even when we willingly choose them. An old habit can be pleasurable. An addiction can feel comforting. A choice can feel freeing in the moment. But simply being able to choose something doesn't necessarily make us free.

Pastor Lindsey described three pieces we usually associate with freedom: desire, ability, and opportunity. If we want to do something but don't have the ability, we're not completely free to do it. If we have the desire and ability but never have the opportunity, we're still not free. And if the opportunity and ability are there but we have absolutely no desire to act, something is still missing.

Then she added something even more important: What if we have the desire, ability, and opportunity to do exactly what we want—but what we've chosen ultimately destroys us? Is that really freedom?

To illustrate the point, Pastor Lindsey invited us to imagine going skydiving. You have decided you're finally going to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. You're excited. You're ready. But on your way to the airport, you hit a pothole and have a blowout. The plane leaves without you. You had the desire and perhaps the ability, but you lost the opportunity.

Or maybe you make it to the airport but skipped all your training. The plane is there and you're eager to jump, but you have no idea how to operate a parachute. You have the opportunity and desire, but not the ability. Or perhaps you've taken the classes, strapped on the parachute, climbed into the plane, and reached altitude. Then the door opens—and suddenly every ounce of desire disappears.

But imagine everything goes perfectly. You have the opportunity. You have the ability. You have the desire. You jump, and for a few moments it feels like absolute freedom. Then you discover your parachute is defective. You may feel free as you fall through the air, but that freedom is an illusion because of where it is taking you.

That is where Pastor Lindsey's illustration becomes much more than a funny story about jumping out of an airplane. There are things in life that can feel exactly like freedom: I can do what I want. I can choose for myself. No one can tell me otherwise. But Jesus asks us to look beyond the moment and ask where our choices are leading us.

Freedom without life is not freedom. Freedom that leaves us enslaved to our desires is not freedom. Freedom that ultimately destroys us is not freedom.

Jesus offers something different:

“If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”

And this freedom isn't something we manufacture ourselves. Pastor Lindsey described Christ as the One who has “caught us mid-fall.” That's a powerful image. We were already falling. Sin already had its grip upon us. No human-made parachute could save us.

But Christ entered our fall. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus does more than give us another set of instructions for living. He rescues us. There is no condemnation for those who belong to Him, and He begins changing not only our destination but also our desires.

That same truth appeared beautifully in Sunday's children's message. Pastor Lindsey talked about adopting pets from an animal shelter. The cat climbed the curtains. The dog got onto the furniture, ate the cat food, dug up the flowers, and even ate the tomatoes. They weren't exactly model pets—but they weren't adopted because they behaved perfectly. They were loved because they had been adopted.

Our relationship with God works much the same way. God doesn't wait for us to behave perfectly before welcoming us. We aren't adopted into God's family because we've finally demonstrated good enough manners. Grace comes first. Then God begins changing us.

That's an important distinction because Christian freedom isn't simply freedom from something. It is also freedom for something. Christ frees us from the guilt and power of sin so that we can become the people God created us to be. Our desires begin to change. What once controlled us no longer has to define us. What once seemed like freedom may begin to look more like bondage, and what once seemed restrictive—following Christ, trusting God, surrendering our desires—can become the path toward genuine life.

Pastor Lindsey ended with another beautiful image from Scripture: those who trust in the Lord will “mount up with wings like eagles.” The world may offer us the exhilaration of free-falling for a few moments. Jesus offers something infinitely greater. He teaches us to fly—not for thirty seconds, not simply for this life, but into eternity.

Sometimes the hardest bondage to recognize is the kind that feels like freedom. So this week, consider the things that have a strong hold on your time, attention, emotions, or choices.

Ask yourself:

Is this helping me become more free—or is it quietly becoming my master?

That question isn't meant to create guilt. Jesus' invitation isn't “Free yourself.” It is: “If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”

Real freedom begins by trusting Christ with the places where we aren't as free as we'd like to believe. We don't have to rescue ourselves from the fall. Jesus has already come for us.

Choose one area of your life where you feel especially attached to having things your way. It might be a habit, a relationship, your schedule, money, technology, resentment you've been holding onto, or simply the need to be in control.

Each day this week, bring that one thing honestly before God and pray:

“Jesus, show me what true freedom looks like here.”

Then pay attention. Is Christ asking you to let something go? To change a habit? To forgive? To trust? To choose something different?

Remember: following Jesus isn't about losing our freedom. It's about discovering what freedom was meant to be.

Gracious God,

We long to be free, yet sometimes we mistake getting what we want for true freedom. We hold tightly to habits, desires, and choices that promise life but can quietly become the very things that bind us.

Thank You for Jesus Christ, who does not simply tell us how to escape but enters our fall and rescues us. Teach us to trust the freedom You offer. Give us courage to recognize the things that have become our masters and grace to surrender them to You.

Shape our desires so that we increasingly desire what brings life, love, mercy, and wholeness. Help us remember that we do not earn our place in Your family through perfect behavior. You welcome us in grace and then lovingly transform us.

May we live not in the illusion of freedom, but in the lasting freedom found in Christ. For if the Son makes us free, we are free indeed.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.