MUSIC
LIVING FOR JESUS This one-hundred-year-old hymn by Thomas Obediah Chisholm sheds light on the connection shared between believers and the Redeemer due to His death at Calvary.
Written in 1917 in the United States by poet Thomas Obediah Chisholm, “Living for Jesus” gives insight into the duties of Christian believers and the bond they share with the Son of God due to His sacrifice on the Cross. It is included in hymnbooks of different denominations from all over the world and has been translated into many languages throughout its more than one hundred years. The poem has a particular history. In 1915, composer Carl Harold Lowden wrote a nice song for children’s services; however, after listening to other opinions, the songwriter decided that his work should have more general lyrics. After much prayer, Lowden sent a letter to Chisholm, asking him to write them and suggesting the type of refrain to be used. The writer replied that he did not have the slightest idea as to the method used in writing words to music. Lowden wrote back and told him to let God write the hymn. In a couple of weeks, he completed the writing of the song. GREAT SONGWRITER
Writer of more than two thousand hymns, Chisholm was born in a log cabin in Franklin, Kentucky, on July 29, 1866. Guided by the Holy Ghost, he came to Jesus at the age of 26, after listening to missionary Henry Clay Morrison, president of Asbury College, preach the Gospel. In 1903, he became a minister of God. Faithful to the Holy Scriptures until his death on February 29, 1960, he once described his purpose for writing Christian songs: “I have sought to be true to the Word, and to avoid flippant and catchy titles and MISSIONARY MOVEMENT 24 WORLDWIDE America • Europe • Oceania • Africa • Asia
