how's your walk?

A few years ago, when I met my cousin's fiancé for the first time, I have to admit he caught me completely off-guard. I didn't but get introduced to him, when he bluntly asked, "How's your walk with the Lord?"

Just like that. No warning of "Blunt question ahead."

I still remember my shock and surprise at his bold question. And, I have to admit it made me a little uncomfortable. It was perhaps a combination of the subject and the fact that this was the greeting out of the mouth of a man I'd never met.
I honestly can't even remember what I replied. I probably mumbled something like, "Oh! Good, good," and fumbled for a way to change the subject.

Now that I'm older and more mature (ahem, okay, just older), I got to thinking about that question. It dawned on me how responsible we are for our own spiritual growth (and to a lesser extent encouraging the spiritual growth of our fellow believers).

Paul tells us in his letter to the Ephesians that "God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love–like Christ in everything" (The Message, Eph. 4:15)

We are to continually be striving for the fruit of the Spirit in every aspect of our lives, public and private. In his book, "Victory over the Darkness," Neil Anderson writes, "We should be able to say every year, 'I am more loving, peaceful, joyful, patient, kind and gentle than I was last year.' If we can't honestly say that, then we are not growing."

If we truly want what God wants for us, we will actively seek to grow our faith, to increase our love for each other, to promote peace and unity, to be patient, kind and gentle and to walk closer to Him.

Part of His will for us includes walking with Him, and ironically it is only by doing that, that we can come to know what His will is for our lives. (I hesitate to make a list of do's, but I believe it's essential for a person to be in God's Word daily in order to both walk with Him and discern His will - that's the main way He will speak to us. He will of course use the Holy Spirit and mentors he has placed in our lives to lead us and to help us grow, but I think He uses His written Word more often.)

In addition to our own spiritual maturity, we are also responsible to encourage and exhort the members of the body of Christ to grow in their spiritual walks.

We can be either an inspiration or a deterrent to someone's walk with God. A simple word or comment can make all the difference in the world. I'm reminded of Philippians 2:4, where Paul encourages us to look out for the interests of others. In verses one and two, he tells us, "If you've received anything from Christ, if His love has given you any comfort, if you care at all, then make me happy by agreeing with each other, by loving each other and by being deeply concerned about each other." (my paraphrase)

Those who love you most will be most concerned with where you are spiritually. I don't say this lightly.

If I truly have your best in mind, I will want you to spend eternity with the Lord and I will want you to be walking with Him right now. I will want you to have as close a relationship with Him as possible.

I will ask you, "How's your walk with the Lord?"

I hope you have a clearer answer than I did.