We travel but do not approach. We pass many areas by car, ship, plane, but in the end we are approaching to only touch the land of our destination. The intermediate parts are ephemeral images that we may have kept in our mind, but they were left behind as a memory.
The “εγγύς” (en-gü’s) and the “εγγίζω” (en-gē’-zō) , I approach in order to touch, are familiar concepts in Greek. Similar is the concept of approaching in the issues of living faith. I travel with a purpose and it is obvious that we all travel to everyday life with a purpose, either to earn our livelihood or a goal beyond everyday life. And for everyday life, the practical need makes us productive and careful.
On the contrary, on matters of faith that include not only today but also tomorrow and the near and distant future, our attention is generally relaxed; we do not approach our successes and failures with the same interest.
Our interest gradually diminishes, we become sluggish in the hearing of the Gospel, the faith remains inactive, and we end up in a typical Christian program, without control of depth and effectiveness.
The faith of the grain does not yield fruit, the supplies and gifts of our creator not only are not exploited but they are forgotten and lost in oblivion and in the absence of truth from our lives.