Transformed Mind

This past winter I spent 10 weeks at Bellevue Hospital Center in NYC as a chaplain. It. Was. Awesome. I had the chance to minister to a very diverse group of people, I mean, on Bellevue's own website it says that it's, "a microcosm of the Third World – a hospital for the undocumented, impoverished and disfranchised" ( Bellevue CPE ). I was assigned the prison floor where inmates from Rikers Island would come to have medical/surgical procedures done, Medical ICU, Coronary Care Unit, Rehabilitation, Adult Psych, and when on-call Adult and Pediatric ER.  To be honest I really didn’t know what to expect coming into CPE. I had spoken with a couple of other Army chaplains that have been through at least one unit and they absolutely loved it. Well, maybe love is too strong of a word, lets just say that they learned a lot from the experience and told me that if I ever got the chance to do it, to jump on the opportunity. They said it was very introspective and there’s ...

Authority In all of the verses discussed in the last post, there is one element that hints at how checed (mercy) should be perceived and how it is used. Given that mercy is compassion bestowed upon the undeserving, it makes sense that the people that receive mercy are subordinate to the giver, in the above cases, God. However, people are not just subordinate to God, but also to His angels. Genesis 19:19, the first time checed is used in the Old Testament, Lot says to the visitors or angels, “Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life…” Lot was obviously in a debt of gratitude for the angel’s actions at that very moment was saving his life. Lot was in a subordinate position and knew it. This brings up another interesting point, which is that the object of mercy often recognizes mercy for what it is, compassion for the undeserving. This is especially the case in Psalms, where the u...

Checed, or as one of the translations mercy, is a powerful word. Its meaning conveys power and authority, yet, it also demonstrates compassion and love by the giver. Mercy is always welcomed, but given sparingly in today’s society. In the Old Testament, the word mercy is used many times to convey thanks to God in His showering of undeserved graciousness upon humanity and is a character trait that God urges humanity to mirror as the process of sanctification shapes and forms our being. Attribute of the Father God, as God, is omniscient, omnipotent, omnibenevolent, and omnipresent. As such, there are certain attributes that belong to Him that are immutable, that is, unchanging. They are a part of His intrinsic worth and define whom He is. Along with love, patience, transcendence, and many others, God is also merciful or has mercy. And because it is an attribute of His nature, it is abundant and overflowing as is seen in Numbers 14:18 where it states that, “The Lord is ...