The stone was rolled away and the angel of the Lord appeared and said, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for He has risen.” For Christians, the words of Matthew‬ ‭28‬:‭5‬ ‭are heard during every Easter service. The death and resurrection of Jesus was about the sacrifice of His life so that we would not be punished because of our sins.

While we celebrated Jesus’s resurrection last week, we should reflect on what that means. The resurrection allows us to have a new life. A second chance to live out our purpose. The Bible has 171 references to the word “new.” It often symbolizes renewal, transformation, and the promise of a fresh start.

Ephesians 4:22-24 tells us “to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Ephesians 4:23 isn’t talking about a once-in-a-lifetime renewal but a constant, daily renewal of our mind and spirit.

God knows that we all fall short of the law. It was the significance of the death and resurrection of His son. We can rejoice in knowing that we now have an advocate, the Holy Spirit, to help us in this renewal and conversion from our old life to a new one.

In our conversion, old cravings are replaced with new ones. Conversion creates affections for God and desires to be godly. It’s the beginning of God-pleasing, Spirit-generated lasting change. Once we shed our old selves, we should not look back.

As Isaiah 43:18-19 tells us, “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Through the resurrection, we are offered a way out of the wilderness and given a drink of water in the desert through the Holy Spirit.

What are we to do with our new selves? Look to what’s in front of us and walk out our calling. While we have lofty goals and dreams, our calling begins with the people and situations that are around us. Big dreams start with the first step- there’s no elevator to the mountaintop.

Make no mistake. God places desires in our hearts. He places us with lofty ambitions that, if used according to our calling, can fuel our journey. He leads us through our own desires if we allow Him to direct our path.

Our walk and constant renewal of the Holy Spirit allow us to respond to the call. Our ambition and burning desires begin to align with the Father’s call. Our rebirth allows us to become one with our upward calling, and the work that makes us come alive will also be pleasing to our Father.

I’ve spent so much time questioning and wondering what I should be doing in my career. I assumed that my desires and ambitions were contrary to God’s will. This thinking led me to believe that I needed to shut out my ambition and instead do work that I thought would be pleasing to God, according to the world.

Civil rights leader and theologian Howard Thurman said it best, “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who come alive.”

God wants us to enjoy our work and continue to do not only what we’re good at, but what motivates us to get out of bed every day. Whatever we do, we do it for the Father’s glory (1 Corinthians 10:31).

I’ve struggled with my own renewal and calling. Being pulled by what I should do versus what I want to do. Yet I’m reminded each day to keep pressing towards the upward goal and getting to know Christ better, as Paul wrote in Philippians 3:10-14.

“I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

This season, we see uncertainty, death, and destruction all around us. Yet we also see new life and renewal. Let’s take the opportunity we have from the resurrection for our own rebirth and daily renewal through our relationship with the Holy Spirit. With our fresh start, we can begin to live lives filled with purpose and meaning.