Creekbank Stories Curt Iles, Storyteller
It’s a good word. Seek.
It’s a double-first cousin of another good word. Search.
Seek. Search. Sought. Strive. Hunt for.
It’s a word with a sense of passion . . . maybe even a sense of desperation.
It’s different from looking.
Looking can be a relaxed word.
Seeking has an intensity to it.
Similar words from a thesaurus bear this out. Pursue. Strive. Go after.
It pictures a quest.
My life verse contains the word seek. “Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven and His righteousness
and all these things shall be added unto you.” 1
I think of how many rock songs have a seeker mentality and theme.
Whether it’s Skynyrd (“Searching”) or U2 (“I Still Haven’t Found”). The list goes on and on.
It’s a good Ramadan word.
Friday was the final holy day for the Muslim observance of Ramadan.
There was an air of searching in our city.
The mosques were full.
The prayer calls (on the dreaded loudspeakers next to our house) were longer and louder.
You could feel the intensity.
The seeking.
The searching.
I’ve grown to love our Muslim friends and neighbors.
They’ve shown us kindness and hospitality.
I’ve come to realize they’re searching.
Seeking peace. Forgiveness.
Meaning in this life that can have an extra layer of African craziness.
I’m seeking to introduce them to my personal answer of searching.
His name is Jesus.
They view him as a prophet.
I believe (another strong word) he is the Son of God.
Who lives forever.
Who has the power to forgive sins.
I share a story of Jesus healing a paralytic man with an opening statement of , “Son, your sins
are forgiven.”
My life verse are Jesus’ very words. Seek first the Kingdom of Heaven.
My simple prayer is that those seeking may find their answer in the one who said, ‘I am the way,
the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.”2
I can testify that in over forty years of following him as my Saviour, Guide, and Lord, He has proven
himself trustworthy.
Faithful.
He is worth seeking.
Seeking,
Iles
1 Matthew 6:33
2 John 14:6
