silt

Ephesus location today

From Wayne Stiles in Walking in the Footsteps of Jesus:

What I had found fascinating about Ephesus was at the end of the road that began just outside the theater. Called the Arcadian Way, this street served as the main thoroughfare from the harbor to the city; Ephesus lay along major caravan routes from the east its harbor provided shipping routes to the west. I paced down the street toward the ancient harbor, past the usual right turn toward the exit, and walked as far as the street would allow. I looked in every direction … but no sea. Centuries of silt from the Cayster River had accumulated in the harbor and gradually pushed the waterfront away from the city. The citizens had tried to restrain the silting, but they eventually had given up. Today the ruins of Ephesus sit about five miles from the Aegean Sea! Grain after grain of silt, year after year of deposits, finally reduced a city of great influence to insignificance … I began to relate that silting to the spiritual life – the silting of the heart, not the harbor. Grain after grain of busyness, year after year of neglected devotion to Jesus, had finally reduced a church of such doctrinal strength to devotional attrition. The Ephesian Christians had lost their first love by allowing the silt of spiritual indifference to accumulate over the years. It can happen to anyone. Even to you and me … As believers, we never outgrow the basics. We either build on them or abandon them. We can wake up after a number of years and discover that our lack of passion for Jesus has gradually silted Him five miles away from our hearts. We then find ourselves living in the ruins of once-vibrant spiritual lives.

HT:My Dad