Living the Gospel

James Martin (a Jesuit priest, author, and all around brilliant man) posted a link on Facebook a while back to an article about a nun who had passed away.  His profound comment on the link he shared struck me:

Sister Anne Montgomery had “a lifetime of living the Gospel.” 

I really hope someone will say that about me when I die.

More importantly I hope I will live a life that will warrant someone saying that I spent a lifetime living the Gospel.  

There are a lot of standards you could use to measure the “success” of your life: how much money you make, how high up in the hierarchy of your company you move, how big your house is, how well your children grow up, how happy you are, how many books you publish, how well known or respected you are in your community, how many hours you spend volunteering, etc.

But this is the standard I want my life to be measured by: when I die, will someone be able to honestly say that I spent a lifetime living the Gospel?

I know I will never be able to live the Gospel perfectly.  I will fail again and again to love my neighbor as myself.  I will fail again and again to share God’s love through word and deed.  I will miss or ignore opportunities to care for people in need as Jesus instructed his followers to do.  I will never be able to love God and follow God's commands as God instructed God's followers to do.

But I pray that by the grace of God, God would give me the courage, the faith, and the strength to spend a lifetime living the Gospel.