Young Woman, What’s Your Legacy?

When we hear the word legacy, our minds often go to older women––the wise ones at church with white hair and Bibles so well-loved that the gold edges have faded, pages have yellowed, and words that were once jet black have turned gray. We might think of the teachers and professors who have shaped us, the mentors who have poured into us, and the church leaders who have faithfully loved the Lord and His people. But when is the last time you took a minute to think about your legacy? 

In your teens, twenties, and even thirties, it can be tempting to focus only on what’s a few years ahead—what college you’ll attend, when you’ll get married, what job you’ll have, when you’ll have kids, where you’ll live. But as you head into each new season, remember: there are women who are coming behind you, watching your life as they step into where you’ve just been.

Young woman, you are leaving behind a legacy even now.

Faithfulness over Fame

The Oxford dictionary defines legacy as “the long-lasting impact of particular events, actions, etc. of a person’s life.”¹ To the world around us, leaving a legacy often looks like making a name for yourself, donating a large sum of money, or creating something that will outlive you. But what does a legacy look like for those of us who are in Christ?

For believers, legacy isn’t about the number of people who know about you; it’s about faithfully serving those around you with love (Gal. 5:13). It looks like . . .
 

• using your gifts to build up the Body of Christ (1 Pet. 4:10). 
• proclaiming the works of the Lord to the next generation (Psalm 145:4). 
• pursuing with excellence whatever the Lord has called you to in your current season (Col. 3:23–24). 

In other words, for the believer, leaving a legacy is really about faithful, godward living each and every day. Eventually, it adds up.

As you consider those who are learning from your example, think about Titus 2:3–5, which says that older women “are to teach what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands and to love their children, to be self-controlled, pure, workers at home, kind, and in submission to their husbands, so that God’s word will not be slandered.” 

While you might not be an older woman in the traditional sense, your life still teaches what is good and godly to those who are coming behind you. Likewise, 1 Timothy 4:12 says, “Don’t let anyone despise your youth, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.” 

We don’t know what events or actions in our lives will leave a lasting impact on those around us—we don’t have control over that. But we can choose, by the help of the Holy Spirit, to live our lives intentionally, remembering that even the most mundane things can have an eternal impact for the kingdom. 

Start Building Now

It can be tempting to think that the things you are doing as a young woman don’t really matter, that you have plenty of time to learn, grow, and leave a legacy for Christ. But that isn’t completely true. Your legacy doesn’t begin when you turn fifty, or sixty, or seventy. A life characterized by faithfulness, love for the Lord, and love for His people doesn’t develop overnight. Who you are today is the sum of your habits, desires, influences, actions, and thoughts up to this point. Who you’ll become tomorrow is shaped by those same things today. 

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth’s father, Arthur DeMoss, often said, “You are what you have been becoming. And you will be down the road what you are becoming now.”² May we be women who commit here and now to loving the Lord, to loving His Word, to faithfully completing the work that He has called us to, not for our own legacy’s sake but for the cause of Christ. 

Take a moment to stop and think about the end of your life. Then ask yourself:

• Will the things you consider your greatest achievements be what counts when you stand before Christ? 
• What would your loved ones say really mattered to you?
• What will they say your character was like?
• What do you want them to remember most about you? 

Let the answer to those questions drive what you are cultivating in your life now. As the psalmist writes in Psalm 90:12,

Teach us to number our days carefully 
so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.

Christ: The Only Legacy That Matters

In my college chapels, we often sang the song “The Cause of Christ.” Two of its stanzas have always stood out to me:

The only thing I want in life
Is to be known for loving Christ
To build His church, to love His bride
And make His name known far and wide.

It is not fame that I desire
Nor stature in my brother’s eye
I pray it’s said about my life
That I lived more to build Your name than mine.³

Is this the desire of your heart? That your legacy speaks the name of Christ more loudly than your own? Then your legacy isn’t just something to leave behind for your grandchildren; it’s something you can begin today. Leave behind a legacy for Christ at your high school, your college, your workplace. Leave behind a legacy for Christ with your family, your neighbors, your friends. Not by making a name for yourself but by living a life that points those around you to Jesus. 

Young friend, don’t wait to become the woman you hope to be someday. Become her now, with the help of the Holy Spirit, one faithful choice at a time. And when your life is remembered, may it not be for what you accomplished but for the Jesus you loved, the people you served, and the Name you spent your life making known.

¹ Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “legacy (n.),” accessed August 20, 2026, oed.com.

² Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, “Trust and Obey,” Revive Our Hearts, June 13, 2023, https://www.reviveourhearts.com/podcast/revive-our-hearts/trust-and-obey/?srsltid=AfmBOorz8Ahd7w8er7s6x81GYYuFxuIIrFvFu49bpspAtEzKhVaneK3g.

³ Kari Jobe, “The Cause of Christ,” written by Kari Jobe, Benjamin Hastings, and Bryan Fowler, track 11 on The Garden, Capitol Christian Music Group, 2017, streaming audio, accessed August 20, 2026, Genius.