It's a little lopsided.

You've probably been taught from a young age that a story begins with an introduction, body and conclusion. You probably scored low on your first paper because you mixed them up. It is as if our change in perspective, the methods to our madness, the order of our lives cannot be seen upside down as if right side up.

I'm proposing something kind of different here. Something a little lopsided.

What if I asked you to see your life upside down so it could be right side up. What if reading the last page of every novel; looking in the crystal ball and seeing life before your eyes; knowing the outcome of your death; and skipping through the movie to get to the ending was the best thing for you now? Maybe this seems wrong - but what if it was right?

In fact, as a Christian, you probably already know a fair amount about this ending, so why don't I just start us off?

The end

"...looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2)

Christians actually know a lot more about the end times than they give God credit for. So many are discontent, and want to know the exact date, the time, and what will happen. But I know that because of what Christ has done, I will be with him in Heaven. I know that he will return, and I am simply awaiting his return. I know that I will die, but that will be the end of my misery, my disappointment.

My proposal is that every day, you walk remembering the end that you know. Every movie that ever depicts the prophecy of someone's death shows it as inherently a bad thing. The truth is, we are the walking dead. But because of Christ, we are the walking dead (but alive). We are constantly living this paradox of being dead and alive and it just makes sense.

I once delivered a speech on the struggle of being homeless - literally, not even being able to define home. I was born in America, grew up in Australia calling America home, moved to America calling Australia home, finally throwing the towel in and saying "Heaven is my home!" But I think I made the fatal mistake we all make. I equated the ending with my beginning of the Christian life: the race itself. You see the home I was seeking was this present entity with which I could identify. I thought that I could just claim an earthly citizenship to an eternal, spiritual reality. It really isn't a problem to call Heaven my home, because it one day will be. But the key words are "One day". For now, Heaven is a hope.

The end is nigh, but it is still yet to come. And its the best. Honestly, I think this end needs to be the beginning Christians all start with, their perspective. If I don't have an end, there is never a beginning. I just exist.

Honestly, if the irony and contradiction of my earlier metaphor - the walking dead (but alive) - concerns you, consider this: the hope we have should always steal the light from our desire to make sense of this mystery. I spend too much of my time, my life trying to understand the God of the universe: how he could love me so much; how he could pay for it all; how he could plan all of this from the beginning. Sometimes its nice to just be a walking contradiction and deal with it.

Honestly, if hope is what keeps me alive and it looks a little crazy, I can take it.

So where to next?

The rest of the story.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us..." (Hebrews 12:1)

In the present, perhaps we need to look to the past as well, to encourage the changes we might need to make. Let the people of history change us, let us simmer in the reality of the grace of Christ. But don't end there.

We are called to lay aside the burdens, the temptations and the sin that might hold us back from worshipping God with everything we might have. No sprinter ever believed in carrying a backpack to make them go faster. No swimmer believed wearing their normal clothes would help them move through the water faster. No cyclist believed loose clothing help them work their ways on cement streets.

We have a hope (Heaven) and we lay aside our hold. That is the life in the present. We are not held down by anything again. We are free to run.

There is a problem though: when we become new believers, we think our actions must be changed immediately, we have to live as Christians who are on-fire for the Lord. But too many people see this as a sprint and not cross-country. It takes much more endurance. And it takes a whole lot more faith and trust in the object of our faith, namely Christ Jesus.

And even as Christians, when we repent of sin and confess that we have done wrong, we think the Spirit will change us immediately. This is unrealistic. The race takes time and energy. Indeed, the Spirit moves within us, to enable us. But my proposal is that a dose of some perspective might be needed as well.

The (actual) conclusion...

I think the analogy to remember is that a peanut butter sandwich flipped around is still the same looking peanut butter sandwich. The truth is, we are so scared to flip it all around, because we like the neatness of our ordered lives.

I see so many Christians around me scared to think about death, or life after death, or the fact that Jesus could come when we least expect, or that they may not have done enough to enter the kingdom. You see, non-Christians are meant to see the gospel in order, I think their lives are changed by the Spirit and then faith and living the Christian life. Paul is fairly clear in Corinthians that the way the Spirit works is in order and not chaos. God literally made the world in order.

But I have a problem with how Christians see their lives. You see, we think we can start at the beginning of our new life in Christ, with the same perspective, looking at our own sin. I've seen so many Christians messed up because when they only ever look to their own sin, they end up just looking at themselves, even more than the cross which saves them. They live in self-deprecation, rather than truly humbling themselves and giving it all to Christ.

I think everything must start with the finality. I think in light of eternity, our timeline is kind of messed up. Perspective must start at a distance, which then dictates how we live and what we end up changing. I meet to many people lacking perspective.

We must look to our hope with Jesus, we must lay aside our sin at the cross, not focusing on ourselves and we must run. No more guilt, no more shame, only joy in light of eternity. Our end must be our beginning in this life. The present must show evidence of laying aside our burden and running, but we must know the end in sight.

It's all a little lopsided, I know. But without perspective, I think my sin would simply steal away the joy of my hope. And for a girl without a home, I don't want to lose my hope.