Still walking with God?

I met an old friend a few days ago, we were both attending a celebration service for a mutual friend who had died suddenly. I had not seen Rob for around twenty years; then he was quite an intense character who always spoke what was on his mind. He clearly hadn't changed much in this regard, with no preamble he dived straight in, "are you still walking with God?" It was a great question, one that got right to the crux of what he wanted to know. 

I met many other old friends that day, all asked about our family, where we were living, jobs and our church situation. Only Rob raised this most important topic, it wasn't that other things were unimportant to him, but he wanted to know the answer to this burning question. As I talked with Rob, he explained some of the background to his question. In recent years a number of Christians, including some leaders who he had deeply respected and admired had given up on their faith and had walked away from the church. Rob struggled to understand how this could happen and he was concerned that I had gone down the same route 

As we discussed this phenomenon, a number of others came to mind. One had been a gifted young leader who provoked the whole church to share their faith with others, he now no longer walked with God. Another had led the church in worship as a skilled and sensitive musician, his marriage had broken up and he no longer walked with God. A third led a dynamic mission organisation in south-east Asia, he left the Christian faith and embraced other religions, he died no longer walking with God

I answered Rob's question as honestly as I could, "yes, I am still trying to follow Jesus."  I Sometimes feel I am only just hanging on by my fingertips, but I continue to try to orientate my life around his. I could see that my answer encouraged Rob, he had feared the worst, but I had been able to give him the answer that he had hoped for