There is one type of freedom which surpasses all the rest

In the early part of this passage Jesus said that He is the light of the world. The wrong things that people think and say and do are like darkness. This is what is called ‘sin’. Jesus came to change that. Later in the chapter He said that He could make people free. This was a surprise to the Jews. They thought that they were already free because they were part of Abraham’s family from long ago. The freedom Jesus was speaking about was different to what they thought. Jesus was speaking about being free from the control of sin and having God as their friend. How can people get this freedom which Jesus gives?

The wrong way to get this freedom is to trust in the things which we already have. It might be thinking we are God’s friends because we are part of a family. It might be because we think we have done a lot of good things like going to church. It might be because we think we are already a ‘good’ person. All these are the wrong way to be free from the control of sin.

The right way to be set free from the control of sin in our lives is by trusting in Jesus and not anything or anyone else. What Jesus did on the cross, when He died a terrible death, was as a payment for people’s sins. When we trust in Jesus and what He has done for us our sin is taken away. God doesn’t hold it against us anymore … ever.  Because of this, sin cannot control us any longer and we become God’s friends. We can then live to please Him by doing, saying and thinking things that are right.