The Story Behind the Hymn and Its Lasting Message

Some hymns speak about what God has done. Others speak about what God does in us. Few do both as beautifully and simply as “Living for Jesus”, a hymn that gently but firmly calls believers away from mere religious activity and into wholehearted devotion to Christ.

Written more than a century ago, this hymn remains a favorite in churches across many traditions because its message is timeless. True discipleship is not passive. It is active, ongoing, and shaped by Christ’s love.

A Hymn Born from Partnership and Prayer

“Living for Jesus” was created in 1917, at the beginning of a transformative era for gospel songwriters, Sunday school music, and hymnody in general. The tune was written first, a light, straightforward gospel rhythm known simply as Living for Jesus, composed by C. Harold Lowden. Lowden had earlier written a popular children’s tune called The Sunshine Song, and many pastors encouraged him to use the melody again with more substantial text. It was this music that stirred the next step in the hymn’s creation.

Lowden sent the music to Thomas O. Chisholm, a pastor and prolific hymn writer, suggesting the title Living for Jesus and inviting Chisholm to prayerfully write words that would fit the tune. Chisholm initially hesitated, admitting he did not know the technical method of writing lyrics for a specific melody. Yet, with encouragement and spiritual openness, he completed the text in just a few weeks, a brief but powerful poem that would enter hundreds of hymnals around the world.

Who Was Thomas O. Chisholm?

Thomas Obediah Chisholm was born in Franklin, Kentucky, in 1866. He spent his early years on a farm and later worked as a teacher and newspaper editor. Chisholm came to faith in Christ at the age of 26, and he devoted much of his life to ministry, writing more than 1,200 poems and hymn texts. Though he served only briefly as a pastor due to poor health, his writing had a far wider impact than his pastoral career alone could have achieved.

Chisholm’s intent as a writer was earnest. He avoided sentimentality and aimed to ground his words in Scripture truth. That commitment shows in Living for Jesus, a hymn that reads less like a poetic exercise and more like a personal prayer of consecration.

What the Lyrics Teach

The hymn opens with a clear declaration of purpose:

Living for Jesus, a life that is true,
Striving to please Him in all that I do…

This first stanza frames discipleship not as occasional devotion, but as a lifestyle, a life oriented for Jesus, not just about Him.

The refrain drives the message home with simplicity and strength:

O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee;
For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me…

Here, the hymn connects our response, giving ourselves to Jesus, with His response, giving Himself for us on the cross. This is not transactional language. It is relational, a song of grace offered and grace received.

The second stanza reminds believers that Jesus did not merely make salvation possible. He bore our sin and shame:

Living for Jesus, who died in my place,
Bearing on Calvary my sin and disgrace…

This is core gospel theology, substituted atonement. The hymn then moves from remembrance into response. We follow His leading and give Him our all.

In verse three and four, the hymn broadens the call. Living for Jesus is not limited to private devotion or Sunday worship. It extends to every sphere of life, including suffering and trial:

Living for Jesus wherever I am…
…willing to suffer affliction or loss…

And it closes with mission. Seekers, wearied souls, and the lost are to be brought to the rest and salvation found in Christ:

Seeking the lost ones He died to redeem…

A Hymn of Daily Discipleship

Living for Jesus is not merely a song to be sung on special occasions. It is a call to daily obedience.

In four short stanzas and a memorable refrain, it teaches that:

• Following Jesus is a true life, not a label or routine, but a heart commitment every day.

• Christ’s sacrifice motivates discipleship, not fear or duty alone.

• Every area of life, work, service, and suffering, is included in living for Jesus.

• The Christian life is both vertical and horizontal, our relationship with Christ and our witness to others.

This dual movement, grace received and grace given, is what has made this hymn a staple across denominational hymnals for over a century. It appears as a hymn of dedication, a post-sermon reflection, or a song of consecration in worship services.

In a culture where Christianity is sometimes reduced to cultural identity or mere tradition, Living for Jesus reminds believers that faith is active. It is not a checklist or an identity card. It is a life.

A Christian’s devotion to Christ reshapes:

• how we work

• how we respond to hardship

• how we treat others

• how we find purpose beyond self

The refrain teaches Paul’s summons in Romans 12:1 (KJV): “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice…” and turns it into song.

Today, when believers ask what it means to be faithful, this hymn provides a trustworthy answer. Living for Jesus today, in what we choose, where we serve, and how we love.