Called to New Life: Rethinking Vocation and Work

Devotional

Day 1: Calling is God's initiative, not our discovery.

The idea of a divine call can feel heavy, as if it is a puzzle we must solve on our own. This burden is lifted when we realize that God is the one who takes the first step. He finds us in our ordinary lives, much like he found the fishermen and the tax collector at their work. The call is an invitation extended from His heart to ours, a gift of grace that precedes our awareness. We are not the seekers, but the ones who are found and lovingly pursued. [37:08]

As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. (Matthew 9:9 ESV)

Reflection: Where in your life have you been striving to "find" your calling, and how might it change your perspective to see it as God's initiative to find you?

Day 2: Calling is an invitation to receive new life.

The call of Jesus is far more than a change in career or religious activity. It is a fundamental invitation to come alive, to be reconnected to the true source of life. This call interrupts our old ways of living, which often lead to a sense of death and captivity. It is an offer of restoration, a moment of new creation where the life of Eden breaks into our present reality. We are called out of darkness and into His marvelous light. [42:15]

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV)

Reflection: What is one "old routine" of thought or action that Jesus might be inviting you to release in order to receive more of His new life?

Day 3: Our identity is a gift received, not achieved.

The world often tells us that our worth and significance are tied to what we do and achieve. In contrast, the call of Jesus offers an identity that is given, not earned. This identity is found in union with Christ, not in our performance or profession. When we grasp this truth, we are freed from the relentless striving to prove ourselves and can rest in who God says we are. Our doing then flows from our being, not the other way around. [47:03]

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. (1 John 3:1a ESV)

Reflection: In what specific area of your life are you most tempted to derive your worth from what you do, and what would it look like to receive your identity as God's child in that area instead?

Day 4: Calling reshapes all of life, not just work.

While God often meets us in our workplaces, His call is not limited to our careers. He desires to bring new life into every routine and relationship. Unhitching calling from work alone allows us to see all of life as an arena where God meets us and transforms us. Our work is relativized; it becomes one place among many where we learn to trust and follow Him, rather than the sole source of our meaning and purpose. [50:08]

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV)

Reflection: Beyond your job, what is one everyday routine or relationship where you sense God inviting you to experience more of His life and presence?

Day 5: We are called from self-reliance to trusting presence.

The call to follow Jesus is an invitation to relinquish our cherished independence and self-reliance. It is a shift from striving to secure our own lives to receiving our life as a gift from God. This does not mean God promises that everything will work out as we plan, but He does promise to be with us. We are called to trust His presence and provision, even when the path ahead is unclear, knowing He is the main actor in the story of our lives. [53:52]

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV)

Reflection: What is one situation where you are clinging to control, and what would a practical step of trust look like for you this week?

Sermon Summary

Luke’s calling narratives get reframed as an invitation to new life rather than a vocational checklist. Historical tracing shows that the Latin root vocare originally named a way of life, not a career; Luther broadened calling to every person, but later industrialization and modern individualism narrowed calling back into work and self-discovery. Cultural pressure now pins identity and meaning to job choice, producing anxiety about “finding” a career that will finally make life whole.

Caravaggio’s Calling of Matthew supplies a corrective vantage. Light in the painting functions as a divine character that interrupts ordinary life; it originates from Jesus’ direction and falls unevenly across the figures, signaling revelation that precedes full human recognition. Jesus appears as an intruder into a sixteenth-century tavern, and his hand echoes Michelangelo’s Adam to identify Jesus as the healed, restored Adam who initiates new creation. Matthew’s coins anchor his identity and captivity; grace requires loosening that grip. The painting stages calling as grace arriving first, calling people out of death into Eden-like life.

Luke places calling episodes alongside healings and deliverances to argue that each calling moment participates in new-creation work: the kingdom breaks in when life that was dead becomes alive. Calling therefore functions as reception of identity “in Christ,” not the achievement of an authentic self via career choice. Practical spirituality flows into daily routines: transformation reshapes thought patterns, imaginations, relationships, and work, but work becomes one arena among many where the kingdom reforms habits. Concrete practices—prayerful surrender, reordering routines, learning to receive rather than perform—open space for the domino effects of new life.

Calling shows up in ordinary places—taverns, boats, tax booths—and always begins with God’s initiative. The gospel frames discipleship as being remade by a new Adam who calls from darkness into light, inviting people to live from received identity. The aim of calling remains restoration: to reconnect humanity to its creator and to restore Eden’s flourishing within everyday life.

Key Takeaways

1. Calling is invitation to new life Calling functions as God’s summons into restored life rather than a career prescription. This reframes identity as a gift received “in Christ,” not a goal achieved by work or self-optimization. Receiving calling transforms daily rhythms—thoughts, affections, and relationships—so that ordinary tasks participate in new-creation life. [43:27]
2. Grace precedes human awareness and action Divine initiative arrives before full human recognition; illumination often interrupts routines and only then awakens response. That sequence relieves the burden of “finding” God by making the human role one of opening hands rather than manufacturing faith. Living under grace reorients agency toward receptivity and response. [36:38]
3. Identity is received, not achieved Cultural narratives equate vocation with self-discovery; the gospel declares identity as given through union with Christ. When identity comes as gift, striving for worth through performance loosens and work loses its ultimate claim. Life lived from received identity reorders priorities and frees labor from ultimacy. [46:21]
4. Calling interrupts what binds life What most defines people often also enslaves them; calling requires letting go of captive identities (money, status, control). That interruption can feel costly because it dislodges assumed sources of security, but it restores life by reconnecting persons to the source of life. Grace aims first at the heart’s clutch, then at renewed flourishing. [38:18]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[20:34] - Two calling stories: fishermen and tax collectors
[21:26] - Headings and preloaded assumptions
[22:57] - Luther and the broadening of vocation
[24:15] - Industrial revolution: work and choice
[25:18] - Individualism: work as identity
[27:57] - Introducing Caravaggio’s painting
[30:21] - Light as divine initiative and interruption
[34:25] - Matthew’s coins: identity and captivity
[39:11] - Jesus’ hand: the new Adam and new creation
[43:27] - Calling as invitation to new life
[46:21] - Everyday implications: union with Christ
[50:08] - Work as one arena of calling
[55:37] - Personal reflection and invitation
[68:14] - Closing: banquet imagery and blessing

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading
*Luke 5:1–11, 27–32 (ESV)*

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Observation questions

In Luke 5, Jesus calls Simon Peter and Levi (Matthew) in the middle of their work. What details does Luke include about their responses?
How does the painting *The Calling of Matthew* by Caravaggio depict the moment of divine interruption? [30:21]
What is significant about Jesus’ hand in the painting, and how does it connect to the biblical theme of new creation? [39:11]
How does Luke weave together stories of healing and calling in chapter 5? What might this suggest about the nature of calling?

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Interpretation questions

Why might Luke place the calling of disciples alongside accounts of healing and exorcism? What is he trying to communicate about the kingdom of God?
Jesus says to Simon Peter, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men” (Luke 5:10). What does this reveal about the purpose of calling?
How does the light in Caravaggio’s painting function as a “divine character,” and what does this suggest about how God initiates calling? [30:21]
Why does Jesus call people like fishermen and tax collectors—ordinary people in ordinary places—rather than religious or social elites?

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Application questions

Where in your daily life—your “tavern” or workplace—do you sense God might be interrupting you with an invitation to receive new life? [31:55]
What are the “coins” you’re holding onto—the things you rely on for identity, security, or worth? What would it look like to loosen your grip on them? [38:18]
How might your relationship to work change if you saw it as one arena among many where God meets you, rather than the primary source of your identity? [50:08]
In what areas of life (thoughts, routines, relationships) do you sense God inviting you to receive rather than perform? [48:02]
When have you experienced calling as a moment of grace that found you, rather than something you had to find or achieve? [36:38]
How can you practice “receiving identity” in Christ this week in a tangible way—perhaps through prayer, surrender, or reordering a daily habit?
Who in your life might need to hear that calling is not about getting a better job, but receiving a new life?

Sermon Clips

Now what I wanna do is look at what does this mean for us when we talk about calling. Well, I think the big implication is that calling is not primarily a job or a role or spiritual career. Calling is God's invitation to come alive. It's about Eden being restored, the connection between God and humanity being reestablished. [00:43:22] (27 seconds) #CallingToLife

Identity is this gift. Calling is an invitation to receive. I find this really profoundly freeing. I don't have to continually try to figure myself out. I have to, my identity is not what I do. It's more about living from this deepening union with Jesus. This union language, this idea of being in Christ, it's one of Paul's, like, favorite words that he uses throughout his letter. You'll often hear him write, like, in Christ or in Jesus. [00:46:47] (36 seconds) #IdentityInChrist

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Called to New Life: Rethinking Vocation and Work

Devotional

Day 1: Calling is God's initiative, not our discovery.

Day 2: Calling is an invitation to receive new life.

Day 3: Our identity is a gift received, not achieved.

Day 4: Calling reshapes all of life, not just work.

Day 5: We are called from self-reliance to trusting presence.

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Chatbot

Called to New Life: Rethinking Vocation and Work

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