“But what things were gain to me, I have counted these things to be loss for the sake of Christ.”

— Philippians 3:7

During the decade of the 1950s, a bright and brilliant star flashed across the cinematic and recording sky. It was a star that belonged to a young man with a magnificent voice. The name of that young man was Mario Lanza. But suddenly, unexpectedly, inexplicably, he died—a man who some said had, perhaps, the greatest voice ever.

His records sold more copies than any record ever had until that time. His lifetime goal was to portray the life of Enrico Caruso on the screen, a man he most admired. That dream came to pass in the mid-fifties.

My wife, knowing that I enjoyed his singing, bought several of the few motion pictures for me that he had made. One of them, The Toast of New Orleans, was a story about a rough-cut and unkempt young fisherman, at a bayou in Louisiana. When his talent for singing was discovered one day, the man gave him money for a suit and a haircut.

That astonished the young man. He said, “A haircut? …for singing?”

Then the impresario said something I will never forget. He said, “From now on, everything is for singing.”

When I heard those words, I thought: What a beautiful description of what it means to become a Christian. To become a Christian, very simply, is this: From now on, everything is for Christ. Every thought, every motive, every desire, every action, everything we do is to be done for Christ. Thus, our autobiography could well be called “Christ, My Life.”

Jesus Christ, You are my life. Give me strength for today to be single-minded, to keep in mind that I am not my own. I belong to You. Let all I do and say and think today be pleasing to You…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH,
WE CAN LIVE FOR CHRIST.