WE’LL ALWAYS HAVE PARIS
The famous line, “We’ll always have Paris,” from Casablanca, speaks of a treasured memory that time cannot erase. There are wonderful moments in life so precious they remain with us long after the moment has passed.
God has given us many such memories—times of answered prayer, sweet fellowship, family gatherings, victories over temptation, and seasons when His presence seemed especially near. These memories are gifts of His grace, and they strengthen us when the road grows difficult.
And yet the Christian’s hope is not anchored in yesterday. As wonderful as the past may have been, God has not called us to live there. Some people spend their lives reliving former successes or grieving over former failures, but neither will help us walk faithfully today. The Lord is always doing a new work in the lives of those who trust Him. Every sunrise is another opportunity to know Him more deeply and to serve Him more faithfully.
The apostle Paul understood this truth. Though he had experienced remarkable victories for Christ, he refused to rest on them. He wrote, “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead” (Philippians 3:13). Paul treasured God’s faithfulness in the past, but his eyes were fixed on the finish line and the prize that awaited him in Christ.
The greatest “Paris” the believer possesses is not a place on earth but the promise of heaven. This world is not our permanent home. Every beautiful memory here is only a faint glimpse of the joy that awaits those who belong to Jesus Christ. Earth’s happiest moments eventually fade, but the inheritance God has prepared for His children will never perish, grow old, or disappoint. As Hebrews reminds us, “For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come” (Hebrews 13:14).
So thank God for the “Parises” of your life. Remember His goodness, cherish His blessings, and rejoice in His faithfulness. But don’t become so captivated by yesterday that you miss what God is doing today. The best is not behind the child of God—it is still ahead. Keep your heart set on the city whose Builder and Maker is God, where every longing will be fulfilled and every joy will be made complete.
BDD
