by What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind?
As I’ve entered my mid-to-late thirties, I find myself doing more reflection. There comes a point in life where you attend more funerals than weddings, and funerals have a way of capturing the essence of a person’s life. They make you think about what really matters.
If you’ve ever walked through an old cemetery, you’ve probably noticed something: almost every tombstone has two dates with a dash in between. That little dash represents all the time we spend alive on earth. The question is: what are you doing with your dash?
The Power of Two Dates and a Dash
A poet named Linda Ellis wrote about this concept beautifully in her poem The Dash. She noted that while we focus on birth dates and death dates, “what mattered most of all was the dash between those years.” That dash represents how we lived, loved, and spent our time on earth.
I read of a man who stood to speak at a funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on the tombstone from the beginning…to the end.
He noted that first came the date of birth and spoke of the following date with tears
but said what mattered most of all was the dash between those years.
For that dash represents all the time they spent alive on earth
and now only those who loved them know what that little line is worth.
For it matters not, how much we own, the cars…the house…the cash.
What matters is how we lived and loved and how we spend our dash.
So, think about this long and hard; are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left that still can be rearranged.
To be less quick to anger and show appreciation more
and love the people in our lives like we’ve never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect and more often wear a smile…
remembering that this special dash might only last a little while.
So, when your eulogy is being read, with your life’s actions to rehash,
would you be proud of the things they say about how you lived your dash?
We don’t know when our second date will be etched in stone, but we can do everything possible right now to make sure that little dash is worth it.
The DASH Framework
Here’s a simple framework for making the most of your legacy:
D – Decide
You have to be intentional about your legacy. As Proverbs 22:1 tells us, “A good name is to be chosen over great wealth.”
Start by defining your “life sentence.” If you could have one thing said about you at your funeral, what would it be? Jesus defined His in Luke 19:10: “The Son of man has come to seek and save the lost.” Short, simple, and powerful.
What do you want to be known for? A great parent? Someone who encouraged others? A person of integrity? You get to decide that now, not later.
A – Act
Deciding isn’t enough—you have to put it into action. As Proverbs 20:7 says, “A righteous person acts with integrity. His children who come after him will be happy.”
Billy Graham once said, “Our greatest impact on others often comes, not from what we say, but from what we do.” More is caught than taught. People pay attention to how you live, not just what you say.
This requires consistency—what Eugene Peterson called “a long obedience in the same direction.” Building a legacy is like growing fruit; it takes time, but the consistent effort pays off.
S – Share
A legacy is not lived for yourself—it’s lived for other people. From the beginning, God’s people were called to pass down their faith. Deuteronomy 6 instructs us to talk about God’s words “when you sit in your house, and when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up.”
Three practical ways to share your legacy:
- Leave a spiritual inheritance. Do your family members know what you stand for spiritually?
- Give blessings. Speak words of faith, hope, and love over those you care about. It doesn’t have to be formal—just genuine affirmation of what you see God doing in their lives.
- Pass the baton. Train up the next generation. Don’t just complain that no one is stepping up—actively invest in someone and prepare them to take over when you’re gone.
H – Hope
Hope is a verb—it’s something you do, not just something you have. As one theologian put it: “We have made at least a start in discovering the meaning of human life when we plant shade trees under which we know full well we will never sit.”
Your legacy is about planting seeds for a future you may never see, trusting that God will bring the growth.
Learning from the Hall of Faith
Hebrews 11 gives us incredible examples of people who lived by faith. Abraham, Sarah, Moses, and others all “died in faith, although they had not received the things that were promised, but they saw them from a distance.”
They lived for something bigger than their immediate circumstances. They understood that their lives were part of a larger story—God’s story—that would continue long after they were gone.
The “Hall of Faith” concludes with this powerful image: “Since we have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus.” (Hebrews 12:1-2)
It’s Not Too Late
Maybe you’re thinking, “I’ve made too many mistakes” or “I’m too old to start now.” C.S. Lewis, who spent years as an atheist before becoming one of Christianity’s most influential writers, reminds us: “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”
It’s never too late while you’re still breathing.
Your Legacy Starts Today
Your legacy isn’t something that happens after you die—it’s being written right now. Every conversation with your children, every act of kindness, every moment of integrity or failure shapes the story people will tell about your life.
The world was not worthy of the heroes of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11. They were made for a better place, and so are you. But while we’re here, we have the incredible opportunity to impact others, to plant seeds of faith, hope, and love that will outlast our earthly lives.
What will your dash represent? The choice is yours, and it starts today.
How will you make the most of your dash? What one thing do you want to be remembered for? The time to decide—and act—is now.
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Daniel N. Lee 