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Women's Issues Resources

My Legacy: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

Jolene Cassellius

As young women we cannot influence the legacy we inherit.  The stains and triumphs of yesterday's story must be gracefully confronted in each of our lives.  It is only then that we can focus on what our own legacy will reflect.  What can and will we do today to determine the legacy we will leave tomorrow?

Psalm 139 presents a beautiful reflection on God’s intimate interaction with the unfolding of our lives.  The chapter begins, “O Lord, you have examined my heart and know EVERYTHING about me.  You know when I sit down or stand up.  You know my every thought when far away…every moment you know where I am.”  It is not just in this moment that He is with us.  David declares, “You both precede and follow me.  You place your hand of blessing on my head.”  This from a man who was the least in his family, ridiculed by those he loved and persecuted by those he served.  Yet He knew who had determined his legacy.  “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb…You saw me before I was born.  Every day of my life was recorded in your book.  Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.  How precious are your thoughts about me, O God!”  Regardless of his past or present, he trusted God to direct the path of His future.  “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts.  Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”   

Yesterday:

We cannot dictate the legacy we inherit…spiritually, emotionally, or physically.  My parents have left me an amazing legacy of faith.  Selling their business and home, with four small children, they left the comfort of family and friends to become missionaries in Latin America.  I watched day in and day out as they trusted God for health, favor, finances, and direction.  My parents, however, did not inherit that legacy.  My extended family is riddled with stories of brokenness, pain and hopelessness.  At times, the ghosts of my family’s past can threaten to haunt me if I give them audience. 

Other aspects of my legacy are also inherited.  The fact that I am a sanguine, a blatant people person is a gift from my dad and grandma.  What I do with that personality is up to me.  I am tall and angular, thanks to my aunt and grandpa.  I can embrace my bony knees or despise them!!!  What I inherit I cannot dictate, but my response will determine the legacy I will leave to those who follow. 

Today:

Regardless of our past, we are each given moments of decision today that will chart the direction of our future legacy.  One family presents a fascinating testimony to the power of individual choice in determining who we become and what we leave for those who follow. 

Joshua chapter two tells the story of Rahab.  A prostitute, living on the wall of Jericho, hers could have appeared to be a life without hope of any change.  Immersed in a society that worshipped false gods, she had heard of the Israelites and their God.  When two Israelite spies appeared on her door step, her moment of decision occurred and she was ready.  Risking the wrath of the city leaders, she lied and hid the spies.  She demonstrated faith in a God who she did not know and who had to her knowledge done nothing for her (Hebrews 11:31/James 2:25).  The result?  She was saved from destruction and became a part of the Israelite community (Joshua 6).  Furthermore, she became a part of a divine legacy, becoming part of the lineage of King David and ultimately Jesus (Matthew 5:1).  It took readiness, expectancy, faith, courage and sacrifice though from a little lady living on a city wall to change the course of a dismal legacy.   

The book of Ruth tells a similar story.  After losing her husband and financial security, Ruth is faced with the opportunity of returning to the comfort of her family, culture and gods.  Her moment of decision arrives.  She must choose the course of her future legacy.  Her decision appears irrational.  She follows Naomi, her penniless, broken mother-in-law.  Now, she is not only a widow, but a foreigner.  Her faith and courage eventually lead her to marry a wealthy, righteous man.  She too becomes part of the royal lineage.

Unfortunately, not everyone who inherits a godly legacy values it.  One descendent in the line of these two amazing ladies was King Solomon.  Not only did he have ancestors like Rahab and Ruth, but his father was the great King David.  Yet, I Kings 11 tells the sad story of his decisions.  “Now King Solomon loved many foreign women…The Lord had clearly instructed his people not to intermarry with those nations, because the women they married would lead them to worship their gods.  Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway…and sure enough, they lead his heart away from the Lord.  In Solomon’s old age, they turned his heart to worship their gods instead of trusting only in the Lord his God, as his father, David, had done.”  After Solomon’s death, the kingdom of Israel experienced revolt and division from which it would never fully recover. 

Tomorrow:

Regardless of our past and present legacy…beautiful or scarred, whole or broken…our decisions today, our courage and faith or disobedience and selfishness will determine our legacy tomorrow.  Will we pray like David, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts.  Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”  

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