She Fell Down!

She hid it well. If you blinked you might have missed it. Rachel Smith Miss USA fell down while walking on the runway. To her credit she just smiled as if nothing happened. She confidently waved as she walked the rest of the way. Some in the crowd were very rude, some were shocked, and a few were very supportive. But everyone knew that she could no longer win the prize. Who would vote for a fallen woman?

I wish that I could spend the rest of the article and give my perspective on beauty pageants. As the father of two girls I hate the pressure our society places on women. The idea of the perfect woman has caused so much insecurity. It was recorded that Cindy Crawford once said, that after they touched up and air brushed her photos - "I am not even Cindy Crawford!"

However, the point I want to make in this article is that although we pretend to be perfect we actually fall down. You could say that we are a mess. Have you read the genealogy in the Gospel of Matthew? I know you normally skip that part, but you really need to highlight the women in the lineage of Jesus. Our first beauty queen is from a sleepy village in Southern Israel named Tamar. She has had a difficult life but she is determined to be an actress. Read her story in Genesis 38. Warning it is a mess! Our second beauty queen is from Jericho. She would have been disqualified for rules violations, but members of the CIA cleared Rahab of any wrong doing. Next we have a beauty queen who is a Moabite! You remember where they came from don't you? Ruth is sweet and faithful but we better be careful with her. Our last contestant is Bathsheba! She lives next door to the palace in lovely Jerusalem. She must be considered a favorite. What a mess!

We are all a mess - so God gave us a Messiah. Who entered our mess. And Through him we can still win the prize.

June 6, 2007