2. Glory
A person’s face is like a little window through which we can see something of his soul. His face reflects whether he be good or evil, kind or cruel, happy or sad, calm or disturbed by passion. This will be true in a much more excellent way in the resurrected bodies of the just. For, since their bodies will be more spiritual, the resplendent beauty of their souls as sons of God will shine through, glorifying them with its splendor. Our Lord tells us that “the just will shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” No doubt, their bodies will be like that of our Lord when He was transfigured on the mountain in the presence of three of His Apostles, and “His face shone as the sun, and His garments became white as snow.”
The prophet Daniel says that the resurrected just “shall shine as the brightness of the firmament” and “as stars for all eternity.” All stars, however, do not shine with equal brilliance, “for star differs from star in glory.” So, too, not all the saints will be the same in glory and beauty, but each will have a glory of his own, depending on the merits of his earthly life.
3. Agility
A caterpillar is weak and heavy, clumsy and slow. It must ever stay close to the ground and can never crawl very far from the place of its birth. But a butterfly is swift and graceful, light and strong. It can soar high above the earth and fly perhaps for long distances.
In this world, our bodies, being subject to all the laws of matter, are also slow, clumsy, heavy, and weak. Our fastest airplanes must, to an ever greater extent, be controlled electronically, simply because our senses, our minds, and our muscles are too slow and too clumsy for the job. Compared even to the lowly ant, our bodies, in proportion to their weight, are very weak indeed. And like all material things, they are bound to the earth by the relentless force of gravity, as if by powerful elastic bands, so that the farther we get away from the earth, the faster and harder we must return, perhaps even at the cost of bruises and broken bones. This continuous pull of gravity, which we may call weight, makes it hard for us to work, to climb, or even to sit or lie for any length of time. And the effort to overcome gravity, friction and the inertia of matter, makes us tire very quickly.
Our glorified bodies, however, will be beyond the laws of material things. Like our Lord’s body at His ascension, they will be free of the heavy bonds of gravity, and will thus be completely weightless. This, plus their superior strength, will enable them to move about and do things with great ease without ever getting tired. And being more spiritual, they will be gifted with a great agility, which will enable them to act with the swiftness and nimbleness of a spirit.
4. Freedom from Pain and Death
Caterpillars have many enemies. They live in constant danger of being poisoned, of being killed by birds, wasps, and certain insects, or of being stepped on and crushed to death as they crawl about helplessly on the ground. Little wonder that comparatively few caterpillars ever become butterflies. Once they do become butterflies, however, they are much safer, for they can avoid their enemies more easily. Thus the butterfly is in a sense further from pain and death than the caterpillar.
Our present life is very much like that of the poor caterpillar. We suffer from disease and accidents, from heat and cold, from hunger, thirst, and many kinds of pain, mental as well as physical; while the threat of death always hangs over us. But the gloriously resurrected bodies of the just shall “neither hunger nor thirst,” nor suffer from heat or cold. “And death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more,” for “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Our bodies, reunited perfectly and indissolubly with our immortal souls, will share in the incorporation and immortality of our souls.
