Yesterday, I overdid my exercise routine in my recovery process from my hip surgery. My leg swelled up a bunch, and it hurt much more than usual, so today I am taking it easy and doing a lot of icing of my leg. The main reason I overdid it is because of my competitive nature. You would think that when a person gets to be my age, they would relax a little bit and not get so worked up about winning and being first. I have an app on my phone given to me by ROC Orthopedics in Oregon City,  the medical group that did my hip replacement. It lists daily exercises, videos on how to do them, and a way of checking off the ones you have done. It also keeps track of my walking via my cell phone. Carrying my phone can sense my steps and give me a daily total of steps taken, the average speed I walked, and record it. The problem for me is that all those who have had hip replacement surgery and used this App are in the database, and I can see my rank compared to the others in the system. I realize that many of those I am competing with are younger and probably recover and heal faster, but it is still tough for me not to do more when I see that I am in the middle of the pack. I never did very well in sports growing up, I was pretty slow when I was into running marathons and half marathons in my 50s and 60s. But I still try to win most things I do, even if it is playing checkers with a grandkid.

One of the interesting things about the “Judgment Seat of Christ” is that one of the rewards is our proximity to Jesus in the Millennium. The disciples argued over who would sit at Jesus’s right and left hands. Jesus didn’t say no one would; He just explained how to be the one who did. Someone is going to be first in the Kingdom, and someone is going to be last.

Revelation 3:21-22: He who overcomes, I will grant him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Overcomers are more than just being a born-again Christian.

Mark 9:35 Sitting down, He called the twelve and *said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”

1 Corinthians 9:24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.

I know that I will be far from first in the Kingdom, but I do want to be close to Jesus and sit with Him there.