Leaving a Legacy

I just finished an amazing book, London by Edward Rutherford. It's not for the faint of heart as it is 1124 pages long, but it got me thinking. The book chronicles the lives of just a few fictitious families from 54 b.c. to 1997, and shows how the families change along with the world.  (this is going to be a little less joyous than most of my posts.) In the grand scheme of things what are we all doing? We have no idea where we came from and (i can only speak for my generation) most of us have no idea where we are going to be in a week, let alone 5 years from now. For the most part no one makes any great contribution to society, we all operate within our own sphere of influence (and yes everything i am saying applies to myself as well). Over the course of time there have been inventions such as the wheel, steam engine, electricity, Steel, and the microchip. Great thinkers such as Aristotle, Jesus, Lewis and Tolkien. These are all people and objects from the past that will be remembered forever, but what are we all doing here? I'm not asking what our purpose in life is, but when we die, what will we be remembered for, if anything at all? Will we even leave behind anything of great significance? To be totally honest, I can't even tell you the names of my Great-Great Grandparents. It's somewhat depressing that this will be the case when I die as well. So what can we all do to leave a legacy? Help the environment? stop nuclear proliferation? Well I can't speak for anyone, but myself, but I hope that whatever legacy I leave is the one that not only lets me be remembered by my descendants and brings me happiness in life, but one that also is the most pleasing to God.