SURVEYING THE BEAUTIFUL SITUATIONS
Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised;
in the City of our God,
in the Mountain of His Holiness.
Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth is
Mt. Zion on the sides of the north,
the City of the Great King.[i]
I have often had the privilege of driving through the mountains and looking in the distance to see one mountain towering over the others. It is beautiful to behold. Beautiful because of its situation.
As I stood on top of the mountain at Kehlsteinhaus (Eagles Nest) and looked below to see Austria, Switzerland, and Germany, it seemed we were touching the sky, yet mountains in the distance enjoyed elevations much higher.
Whether in the Alps in Europe, the Helderbergs in South Africa, the Poconos or Rockies here in the United States, or numerous other mountains, the scene is the same: breathtakingly beautiful mountain peaks rising majestically one above the other. We can only attempt to describe their situation. I had to actually see with my own eyes to appreciate their splendor.
What is beautiful? Often words are beautiful, especially words that bring love, counsel, solutions to problems, comfort, and/or point the way to something better.
“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that brings good tidings, that publishes peace (tells about it), that brings good news of good things, that tells about salvation; that says unto Zion: Your God reigns!””[ii] What beautiful words. But wait, the verse says that those who say these words have beautiful feet. They walk in a relationship with the Lord that is complete and harmonious, and they share with others what the Lord has done for them. They tell how others can have peace. They tell about salvation. They remind them that God reigns, and because He does, they, too, can walk in high places.
What is beautiful? Abstract thoughts that cannot be put into words are often beautiful. He has made everything beautiful in His time.[iii] When we open our eyes to see what the Lord has done for us, we realize that He has given us beauty for ashes. Our earthly self is limited, ignorant, insignificant and has insatiable hunger, but when Jesus comes to live in us by His Spirit, He makes us beautiful! He cleans us up inside and outside, puts on a shine, and radiates a glorious light through us. What a beautiful person. Everything Jesus touches is beautiful. Character. Personality. Emotions. Present. Future. All are beautiful to those who understand the transformation that takes place.
What is beautiful? Peter and John knew the meaning of the word. Was it the gate? The temple? Or what happened at the gate to the temple?
“Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple, who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked for alms.
And fixing his eyes on him with John, Peter said, ‘Look at us.’ So he gave them his attention expecting to receive something from them. Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately strength came to his feet and anklebones.
So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God. Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.”[iv]
Some historians say that this account in Acts is the only time the gate is called Beautiful. They conjecture that it must have been the most beautiful of the nine gates around the temple. Others say it was the outer gate that led to all the inner gates around the temple. I would like to depart from the theories they advance and suggest that after Luke witnessed the supernatural event he recorded here in this passage, he referred to the gate where the lame man had sat as “Beautiful.” It was beautiful because of what it represented. It was likely conspicuously attractive because of its decorative ornamentation, but now it had come to represent a moment in history. The adjective “beautiful” is now synonymous with the miracle that took place at the gate.
A man who had been lame all his life was sitting at that gate day after day in the ugliest and most degrading of situations hoping to beg enough coins to make it through another hour, day, week, month, or year. But his day would be different. Today Peter and John had BEAUTIFUL feet . They gave him the BEAUTIFUL good news. They told him about Jesus. They told him about salvation and healing from lameness. That made the gate a BEAUTIFUL situation. Jesus was about to make the man’s life BEAUTIFUL. He who is the provision for all things came into the man’s body that day and made it whole.
Knowing Peter’s nature (and Luke couldn’t possibly record everything), I can just imagine hearing him say to the beggar, “Get up out of there, man. Jesus died for you. This will be the most beautiful moment in your life. Even if I had money to give you, which I don’t, it would only buy you a slice of bread. What you need is a new perspective on life. You need to change your circumstances. From today on, this gate where you’ve been sitting every day for years will be called BEAUTIFUL because it is here that Jesus will become your Lord.
“I don’t have any silver and gold to give you, but what I do have is a message from Jesus and I give that to you. In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up off the ground, throw off your beggar’s robe, and walk away from it.” Faith arose in the lame man’s heart. He believed. He stood up. He walked. How BEAUTIFUL!
The account of Peter and John encountering a beggar at the Gate “Beautiful” highlights several lessons that let us know money is not everything and shows us how life can be made beautiful by the provisions from Almighty God.
Such as I have give I thee. Peter had experienced life that money can’t buy. A new pair of crutches might be nice, but the lame man would still have an emptiness inside. A loaf of bread would suffice for the moment, but he would just be hungry again. What Peter and John had was a healing power for his body and soul which was worth more than all the money in the world.
Peter and John had been in touch with Jesus, and He had imparted to them—breathed into them—spiritual life. Now they were in a position to communicate all that He had shared with them. The soul of man is too big to be satisfied with anything less than God. A loaf of bread would take care only of his physical hunger, but he was given a new life which would not only bring healing to his legs but would also satisfy the hunger of his heart at the deepest level. What a “beautiful” provision.
Rise up and walk. And he stood, and walked. If the apostles had given him a token of coins, he would have remained in his helpless condition. Instead they shared the healing Name of Jesus with him, and he immediately had the confidence needed to rise up and walk on his own power. No amount of money can buy this a miracle, but the confidence Jesus gives produces them. What a beautiful provision!
He entered … the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. If the apostles had given him that for which he was begging, he would have remained a lame beggar. The monotony of being at the gate each day to get enough money to merely survive would have been his boring lot in life. However, he had a radical change. His situation had changed—where God is present in His miraculous power there is a “beautiful situation.” His feet were now beautiful. His joy was indescribable. What a beautiful provision! Someone has said:
- Money can buy acquaintances, but there’s not enough money in the world to buy a single friend.
- Money can buy facts but money can’t buy wisdom.
- Money can buy social acceptance, but money can’t buy virtue.
- Money can buy a reputation, but money cannot buy character.
- Money can buy objects, but money can’t buy objectives.
We exist on the things money can buy. We live on the things money can’t buy. When we can see God as our Provider, who gives us strength each day, we are in a beautiful situation.
What in my life is beautiful? My feet—the joy that comes to others because I have been in their life? My words—the joy that comes to others because I have spoken words of life to them? My situation—the opportunity I had to share the good news of peace and salvation through my actions, attitudes and words?
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding me of the many “beautiful gates” in my life that mark the place where I left despair and discouragement to enter a life of gratitude and thanksgiving. In Jesus’ Name, I pray.
[i] Psalm 48:1-2, KJV
[ii] Isaiah 52:7; Romans 10:15
[iii] Ecclesiastes 3:11
[iv] Acts 3:1-10
*Shoes, Silk & Salt, C. Yvonne Karl, 2002. Chapter 8, p. 53-57.
Musings by Yvonne. Selah! 