Beauty Pageant in Heaven?

A sign language friend initiated a message saying, “Hey, good looking.” I was dumbfounded. She must have gotten it all wrong, wrong window or wrong Samuel. Physical aesthetics has never been my trait. Then again, it could be the Chinese way of calling anyone in the street, leng chai or leng lui, for the sake of it. I am just thick skin maybe. Anyhow, it got me thinking. NO, not about how good I may actual look but about how God would have perceived beauty. Most of us would be familiar with the book of Samuel (yes, the prophet, NOT Samuel Chew) that the Lord sees not as man sees and that He looks on the heart. Certainly that’s a biblical truth.

So, what beauty pageant would there be in heaven if there’s really one? I once sat with a very old lady on the way to Singapore. Her feet was rather feeble as she was already way past 80. Though I was trying to catch some sleep, there’s just something about her that compelled me to start a small talk. Surprisingly, she started the chat instead (and I am pretty certain that it’s NOT because she thinks I look good). The more she spoke, the more I felt the joy that exuberates from her life. She is single and for many decades her life has been to serve the poor and wounded in India. To them, she also brought the gospel. When I reflect on her feeble feet as she was trying to get on the bus, I look at mine and felt ashamed. I’ve traveled so extensively but how often did I bring them good news. My feet may still be strong and brought me far, but how beautiful are they in God’s eyes. If there’s a beauty pagent in heaven, I feel unworthy of the preliminaries even.

"How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" Roman 10:15