More to Life Than This
Over the weekend, Leanne and I watched Bohemian Rhapsody, the Oscar-nominated movie about Queen and its lead singer, Freddie Mercury. The movie does a remarkable job telling the ups and downs of the band and Mr. Mercury.
(The music and acting in this movie was quite amazing. There was very little profanity in the movie, but there were some uncomfortable scenes as the movie depicted Mercury’s struggle with bi-sexuality and drugs and alcohol. I left the movie wanting to listen to more Queen music, but I also left the movie feeling a bit sad for Mercury and for what could have been.)
As I listened to the Queen channel on Spotify while I was making dinner tonight, I heard a song called There Must Be More to Life Than This by Freddie Mercury (from his Mr. Bad Guy album released in 1985). Here are some of the lyrics:
There must be more to life than this
There must be more to life than this
How do we cope in a world without love
Mending all those broken hearts
And tending to those crying faces
There must be more to life than living
There must be more than meets the eye
Why should it be just a case of black or white
There must be more to life than this
The song goes on to talk about hate, death, destruction, fighting, and killing. Mercury goes on…
What good is life, in the end we all must die
There must be more to life than this
I haven’t done an in-depth study of Freddie Mercury or Queen, but the movie definitely depicted Mercury as someone who struggled to believe in himself and to find the meaning of life beyond riches, drugs, alcohol, promiscuity, and fame.
We may not be as famous or “successful” as Freddie Mercury, but many of us struggle with finding the real meaning for our lives. We chase after a screwed up version of success. We seek prosperity, fame, comfort, and respect. I wouldn’t say that these things are in themselves bad, but I think we can do better.
In this life, we have the opportunity to leave our mark for sure, and more importantly we have the opportunity to serve our Creator by serving others. For when we find our Father and when we discover how we were made to serve others, we will begin to understand that there really is more to life than we ever imagined.
Stephen Curtis Chapman points to what we’re looking for in his song, More to This Life:
But there’s more to this life than living and dying
More than just trying to make it through the day;
More to this life, more than these eyes alone can see
And there’s more than this life alone can be
So where do we start to find every part
Of what makes this life complete;
If we turn our eyes to Jesus we’ll find
Life’s true beginning is there at the cross where He died
He died to bring us … (more to this life)
I’d challenge you to STRETCH your mind and your heart as you consider your life. Don’t be content to live a blah existence. Don’t stop at thinking there must be more to life than this. Keep seeking. Keep opening your eyes to your purpose – to your reason for being. You were made for more than this!
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33
(Scott and Lorraine, Thank you for an amazing evening!)