Ellen Chauvin | Soaked & Sprouting

Soaked in God's Word, Sprouting Seeds of Faith

  • Home
  • Welcome!
  • The Book: Longing to Belong
  • About Ellen
  • The Good News
  • Blog

Free to be His Masterpiece

August 25, 2022 by Ellen Leave a Comment

“Sweetheart, they could have thrown you out of this recovery center time and time again, but they haven’t. They see something in you. You need to see in yourself the things that they see in you!”

“I know, Daddy. I’ll try,” she replied, eyes downcast, shoulders sagging.

She saw herself through the eyes of the world: addict, homeless, shamed, worthless. She had a hard time believing that she could be more than, that she could be different.

Over the years, she had found her identity in those “less than” labels. Comfortable, even. But sometimes – no, most times – we need to break out of our comfort zones in order to live free. We need to see ourselves through the eyes of Love, the eyes of Christ.

We need to see in ourselves what Christ sees in us. 

And what does Christ see in us?

A masterpiece, His work of outstanding artistry. God created us individually in His image and it was “very good” (Genesis 1:31). God sees something very, very good in us. He sees our potential, what He knows we can be, because He made us to be that very thing.

Have you ever watched an artist at work? A painter, writer, sculptor? A baker, seamstress, gardener? They pour their heart and soul into making something out of nothing. Each creation is birthed with love and is a work of art. Each is valued, because it was created with the artist’s own hands, hours spent getting just the right shade of color here, the correct word there, the exact amount of sugar or spice.

Christ sees a cherished work of art in us.

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Ephesians 2:10 NLT

As His beloved. We are precious in His sight, and He loves us with an everlasting love. The love Christ has for us is unconditional, pure agape love. When Christ looks at us, it is not with disappointment or anger, it is with love. We need not stand before Him in shame, but shame-less. Free to be His beloved child.

“We know that God has chosen you, dear brothers, much beloved of God.” 1 Thessalonians 1:4 

As a new person. We are more than our pasts, we are more than our mistakes. Our sins are washed clean with the blood of His sacrifice (Isaiah 1:18). We have the freedom to become a new creation in Christ Jesus.

It’s difficult sometimes to take that first step to freedom. To turn our backs on the only life we have known for so long. To start over. It’s hard work. But if we belong to Christ, we are a new person, and we have His power available to us.

“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

“I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 1:19-20

Did you see it? We are NEW! The old life in GONE! And we have HIS power – the power that raised Christ from the dead – available to help us. We don’t have to do this on our own. We have Christ, we have our families, and we have others available to help us become His work of art, His beautiful creation.

When we see in ourselves the things He sees in us, we can stand shame-less before Him.

Hallelujah and amen!

 

 

 

This blog was originally published August 2015

Do you know Jesus?

Are you struggling to study God’s Word on your own? Click here for help!

 

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

The Habit of Forgiving

April 19, 2018 by Ellen 4 Comments

Numbers are constantly floating around in my head. Odd, I know. But I’m an accountant by day and writer at night. I can’t seem to help myself.

Back in the years I used to run…well jog…well wog, (walk and jog). I would do math in my head to forget about the heat and the no pain/no gain thing (it was opposite for me – I had lots of pain and no gain). Yep, the old multiplication tables rolled over and over in my head. Or division. Or whatever. I would calculate how fast I was running a mile. Er, how slow I was wogging – whatever!

When I see numbers in scripture, I instinctively do the math. Reading through the book of Numbers, I double checked God’s work. Guess what? He was right! God’s always right. 

Then I got to the scripture in Matthew about forgiveness. Peter was asking Jesus how many times he had to forgive someone who sins against him.

“Up to seven times?” he asked, knowing that the rabbis taught that three times was enough. Jesus’ response?

“I tell you, not as many as seven,” Jesus said to him, “but seventy times seven.” Matthew 18:22 HCSB 

So of course, the accountant in me multiplied it out, because I wanted to know: How many times do I have to forgive? Don’t judge – you know you’ve done it too! 

Four hundred ninety times. Thats a lot of counting, and a lot of forgiving. It seems to me that it contradicts 1 Corinthians 13: “love keeps no record of wrongs.” And we are called to love, because God first loved us.

Let’s think about it. It would take a lot of time and planning and record keeping to track 490 offenses against us. I may be an accountant, but I don’t enjoy the drudgery of all that paperwork. How about you?

Here’s the funny thing: 

[tweetthis]The more we forgive, the less we count.[/tweetthis]

By the time we have forgiven someone that many times, we are in the habit of forgiving, aren’t we? Forgiveness has become second nature. 

Wow! I love the way Jesus grows us, don’t you? He takes something like math, and uses it to show us how to forgive others. Because really, who wants to keep counting? It’s a burden. 

And forgiving others is freeing. 

My sweet friends, let’s walk in freedom!

Grace be with you,

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
Next Page »

Connect with Ellen

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS

Welcome!

Torrential rains had been pelting us for weeks. With the rains came weeds growing tall in the flower beds. But I noticed other new growth, too. It wasn’t colorful flowers. It was teeny, tiny little oak trees! Squirrels had been working hard, burying food for later. The rains had soaked and softened … Read More...

3 Stepping Stones to a Heavenly Mindset

Enter your email address below to receive this free PDF in your inbox!

Recent Posts:

  • Want to Grow Spiritually? Imitate!
  • A Rock & A Hard Place
  • Loving by Dying

Categories:

Archives:

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 Ellen Chauvin | Design & Development by MRM