I love the idea of quests. They intrigue me, they call to me.
I am drawn to them in stories – whether in the legends of King Arthur; the worlds of Tolkien, Lewis, and others; or even in the gritty back alleys of espionage tales.
I enjoy them in games – I am a paladin on the Adventure Quest website – and can recall vividly employing a long stick as a sword questing down the creek near my grandmother’s house as I imagined the feeling of seeking glory, death or victory last stands and snatching life from the jaws of death on the battlefield.
I have even experienced them (to a point) in real life… the adventure of making a living as a musician (even naming my first record company QUEST Records…), the undertaking of training for a black belt in karate, but most pointedly in the area of finding love. The quest for love. Apropos in February, no?
In a couple of weeks I will be at a Jr Hi Retreat and the theme is love and I am once again drawn to the quest for love. Pictures and memories flit through my mind as I recall the many attempts I have made in this area, mostly comical, some sweet, and even one successful. Discovering that when I completed what I thought was the quest for love, and I got the girl, then the real quest for love began – to make and live a life together. I even recorded a CD about that quest (insert shameless plug for Everyday With You here…) As I prepare for this retreat I am struck by a thought… our many quests for love are actually glimpses into Love’s quest for us.
One more quest before I close… the Magi… they went on a long journey following a star, informed by prophecy and travelling (according to scholars) some 2 years looking for the newborn King of the Jews. All by itself, it is a fantastic tale… and yet, there is a larger story here. The very King they sought was, in reality, looking for them first. That newborn King of the Jews was the same one who first caused the Star of Bethlehem to rise, who in ages past had given the prophecies they learned, who said (in essence) “This quest you are on to find me is an illustration of the larger quest I am on to find you.”
So seek love, quest after dreams, and realize that you, yourself, are the treasure sought by the King, Himself.
