Today, people are desperately searching for makeovers; by the millions they are searching for physical beauty through cosmetic surgery. Liposuction, Botox injections, tummy tucks, figure enhancement, and face lifts are performed to achieve a different "look." Popular TV shows such as "I Want a Famous Face," "Extreme Makeover," and "The Swan" are designed to satisfy this craze for beauty. Let's face it, most of us are ugly; our nose is too long or too short, our eyes are the wrong color, we are too round or too thin, our hair is a mess or thinning, we have a prune face or a double chin, etc. The list is a long one, but most of us ignore the results of our inherited defects and learn to live with them. But beauty pageants and Mr. Universe contests constantly keep before us the modern standard of what is beautiful. This standard changes with time, and each culture has its own standards of beauty. However, there seems to be a universal idea of what makes for a beautiful woman and a handsome man. Some call it classic beauty and it is toward this goal that people are striving.
Ugliness has not always been a problem with humans. When Adam and Eve came forth from the hand of the Creator they were of lofty stature and perfect in symmetry and beauty (1 SpG 120). Not only were they beautiful, but they had perfect health, and they were enshrouded in a beautiful, soft robe of light (COL 310-11). Since that glorious beginning, mankind has degenerated a great deal. Before the Noachian Flood, man's life span was over nine hundred years. By the time of Abraham, it had decreased to a little over a hundred years, and up until recently it had dropped to less than fifty years. Nowadays, due to the providential knowledge and procedures of modern medicine, it has been increasing. God has seen fit to provide the means of prolonging life until His plans for the human race are completed, for the time is not yet "ripe for the coming of the Redeemer" (DA 32). Also, modern medicine and cosmetics can now so alter physical appearance as to reproduce to some degree the bloom of beauty and health from bygone days.
However, beauty is not just skin deep Solomon extols the beauty of a meek and quiet spirit, and we are admonished to enter God's presence in the beauty of holiness. But there will come a time for those who have trusted in the plan of salvation, those who have unwavering faith in Christ's words, to have not just a spiritual beauty but a complete physical makeover. When Christ returns, our vile bodies will be instantly transformed into the likeness of His glorious body (Phil. 3:21). This will be part of the heavenly dwellings that He has prepared for us ( 2 Cor. 5:1, RSV). These heavenly bodies will resemble those of Adam and Eve before sin, they will be indestructible and eternally beautiful. We will be recognized but there will be no more ugliness, for we will have had the "ultimate extreme makeover."
