I. Thomas O. Chisholm (lyricist) 1866-1960
Thomas Chisholm had been an editor, school teacher and Methodist
minister before ill health forced him to begin a less strenuous
life. His favorite endeavor had always been writing poetry. He
said, "I have greatly desired that each hymn of poem might
send some definite message to the hearts for whom it was written."
Harold Lowden (Composer) had written the music in 1917 and had used it with another text. He, however, was not pleased with it and wrote Thomas Chisholm, asking that he use "Living for Jesus" for the setting. Chisholm felt very inadequate for the task, but within two weeks the words were completed.
For the Christian, a foremost priority must be to live for
Christ and to seek his kingdom first. (Matt. 6:33) Therefore,
we should not live to please ourselves, but rather to exalt and
serve our Lord. "My dearest treasure the light of His smile"
(from verse 4)--the ultimate goal of our lives, for, in pleasing
him, and doing his commandments, we obtain eternal life.
II. Verse 1--Living for Jesus a life that is true. Striving
to please him in all that I do; Yielding allegiance, gladhearted
and free, This is the pathway of blessing for me. John 4:23,
Eph. 4:24, Phil. 4:8.
In order to discover what a "life that is true" would
be, let's look at the opposite. A life that is false, is one that
deceives those around us, and deceives ourselves. We are often
able to deceive others into thinking that we are righteous and
well meaning in all that we do, and we may even deceive ourselves
but there is one that we cannot deceive-God. To live a life that
is true is to be honest with yourself and others, and to be true
to God. In living this life and striving to please God, we must
follow his word- to do anything else is to be untrue to him.
Allegiance -faithful and loyal--no matter how
much pressure we experience to do otherwise.
Gladhearted -merry, jovial, joyous--no matter
what our lot in life may be.
Free -independent, unconnected--sin does not
own us.
Eph. 1:1-5, Gal. 3:14, 1 Pet. 3:8-12, Prov. 12:28.
The pathway of blessing is only to be found in Jesus Christ.
Many men have tried to find the peace, happiness, and contentment
that they would consider as blessings, by following a pathway
that Jesus did not set. In the end they will receive the curse
of eternal damnation, rather that the ultimate blessing that we
can obtain--eternal life.
III. Verse 2-Living for Jesus who died in my place,
bearing on Calv'ry my sin and disgrace; Such love constrains me
to answer his call, follow his leading and give him my all.
Rom. 5:6-8, 6:10, 1 Cor. 15:3-4.
Because of our sins, God has the right to demand of us our spiritual life. An eternity in torment is the just recompense of our disobedience of him. But the shame and disgrace of the cross that Jesus endured, relieves us of the consequences of our sin--if we follow him. II Cor. 5:15, Phil. 3:12-14, 4:11-13.
To not give our all to Jesus Christ is to cheapen the sacrifice
that he made for us. We have not only an obligation or duty to
do his will, but a debt to try to repay. Anything that we do is
not enough, but the grace of Jesus Christ is sufficient to make
up the difference.
IV. Verse 3-Living for Jesus wherever I am, doing each
duty in His holy name; willing to suffer affliction and loss,
deeming each trial a part of my cross. Acts 4:12, 5:41, Matt.
10:37-38, 16:24, I Cor. 1:18.
To do our duty in his holy name, is to keep our actions and
our words under the authority of Jesus Christ. If we live our
life under some other authority (our own for example), we will
not have the approval of Jesus Christ. To do anything with out
the approval of Jesus is undermine his authority that was given
him by the father and to destroy the importance of his death on
the cross.
V. Verse 4-Living for Jesus thru earth's little while,
My dearest treasure, the light of his smile; seeking the lost
ones he died to redeem, bringing the weary to find rest in him.
John 12:35-36, Heb. 10:35-37, II Cor. 4:6, Luke 19:10, 15:4, Gal.
4:5, Titus 2:14, Matt. 11:28, Heb. 4:9-11.
Our life upon this earth is a vapor, that vanishes away. What
we do with it will determine our eternal home. The light that
is in Jesus, is our greatest comfort and help in this world. It
helps us in trying to reach others with the good news. His light,
his word teaches us and others that he died for us and will bring
us to a rest more glorious than anything we can imagine.
VI. Chorus-O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to
Thee, for thou in thine atonement, didst give thyself for me;
I own no other Master, My heart shall be Thy throne; My life I
give, henceforth to live, O Christ for Thee alone.
II Tim. 2:18-21, Rom. 6:17, 10:8-9, I Pet. 3:4, Rom. 6:8-11, Gal.
2:19-20, Phil. 1:21.
If Jesus is the master of our hearts (he is in control), our hearts (minds) will elevate him to the position of King, and all that we do or say will be influenced by what his will is for us. When we do this we surrender our lives to him and in so doing we gain freedom from sin and eternal life. We are his and his alone. No other person or thing occupies this position in our lives.