2014 Readers' Choice Award Winner Michael Hidalgo writes:
"I grew up in a Christianized world. I always attended Christian schools, and after high school, I even went to a Bible school for a year before eventually going to a Christian college. All the while, I was never interested in what others thought I should do and not do. I never really saw myself as a bad kid, mind you. I was just a guy who enjoyed partying and all the things that came with that. "However, in my Christianized world, my way of life was considered horribly sinful. Many frequently let me know their opinion of my behaviorβeven if I didn't ask. . . .
"So I wandered further. . . .
"The more I wandered, the more lost I became. I'm not sure where exactly I was, but I do know that I was a long way from home. Even still, as far as I wandered, something inside me could not let go of the idea that maybe if I did turn toward home God would run to me. "Every once in a while, I would open myself to the idea of grace, and it would make sense."
This a journey of the mind as well as the heart as Michael Hidalgo uncovers the false views of God that caused him to wander. Many of us have a deep-seated belief we have to do all we can to please God, and how we live believing the spiritual journey is about us finding our way to him. But the good news is the Bible tells a different story. God is doing all he can to get to us. When we encounter him, we become Unlost and discover the joy of being found by the One we are looking for.