Question from a reader:
As a follower of Christ, I understand that what’s most attractive is what’s inside our hearts, not outside. But I do struggle with my appearance, and it makes me discouraged thinking about my resurrection body, since Scripture emphasizes that our same bodies will be raised at the resurrection. Will I be satisfied with my appearance on the New Earth? Will I be a much better-looking version of myself?
Answer from Stephanie Anderson, EPM staff:
Below is what Randy wrote in Heaven. I encourage you to read it and reflect on it:
Will We All Have Beautiful Bodies?
I heard someone say that in Heaven we’ll all have sculpted bodies, without any fat. The comment reflects a yearning for our bodies to be healthy, fit, and beautiful.
I expect our bodies will be good-looking, but not with a weight-lifting, artificial-implant, skin-tuck, tanning-booth sort of beauty. The sculpted physique our culture admires would be regarded as freakish in other places and times. Some cultures consider what we call slimness as unhealthy and what we consider plumpness as a sign of vitality and prosperity. The same genetic tendencies that make some people unattractive by one culture’s standards make them attractive in another.
Our new bodies, I expect, will have a natural beauty that won’t need cosmetics or touch-ups. As for fat, because God created fat as part of our bodies, we’ll surely have some, but in healthy proportion.
The most beautiful person you’ve ever seen is under the Curse, a shadow of the beauty that once characterized humanity. If we saw Adam and Eve as they were in Eden, they would likely take our breath away. If they would have seen us as we are now, they likely would have been filled with shock and pity.
God will decide what our perfect bodies look like, but we certainly shouldn’t assume they’ll all look alike. Different heights and weights seem as likely as different skin colors. Racial identities will continue (Revelation 5:9; 7:9), and this involves a genetic carryover from the old body to the new. I’m speculating, but it seems likely that people whose bodies were tall will have tall resurrection bodies; those who were short will likely be short. The naturally thin will be thin, and the naturally thick will be thick. But all of these sizes will be healthy and appealing, untouched by the Curse or disease or restrictions, and we’ll each be perfectly happy with the form God designed for us.
Some people consider this topic unspiritual, but one of the church’s greatest theologians, Augustine, didn’t. He says in The City of God: “[The body] shall be of that size which it either had attained or should have attained in the flower of its youth, and shall enjoy the beauty that arises from preserving symmetry and proportion in all its members . . . overgrown and emaciated persons need not fear that they shall be in heaven of such a figure as they would not be even in this world if they could help it.”
We won’t overeat or undereat on the New Earth. With health, vitality, and freedom, we’ll all get plenty of activity. Will calories affect us the same way they do now? I don’t know. But we certainly won’t experience heart disease, diabetes, asthma, osteoporosis, arthritis, cancer, MS, HIV, or anything else that consumes the body. (No more insulin injections for me!)
Most people aren’t longing so much for a perfect body as for the sense of well-being and approval they think goes with it. Of this we can be certain—no matter what we look like, our bodies will please the Lord, ourselves, and others. We won’t gaze into the mirror wishing for a different nose or different cheeks, ears, or teeth. The sinless beauty of the inner person will overflow into the beauty of the outer person. We’ll feel neither insecurity nor arrogance. We won’t attempt to hide or impress. We won’t have to try to look beautiful—we will be beautiful.
We’ll be most grateful not about our appearance but our health and strength. We’ll know that the Artist fashioned us just as he desired and that we’ll never lose the health and beauty he’s graciously given us.
I especially want to call your attention to these lines:
“God will decide what our perfect bodies look like…”
“No matter what we look like, our bodies will please the Lord, ourselves, and others.”
“We’ll know that the Artist fashioned us just as he desired…”
As with so many other questions about Heaven, it’s good to be reminded that God has only good things ahead for His children. Everything broken will be healed in His presence, including our past hurts over insensitive comments, and our disappointments over our appearance and personality. You can trust Jesus with all of this, too. You (and me, and everyone else who trusts Jesus) will certainly be new and improved versions of ourselves!
