New Attitude has a new name, new lineup of speakers, and a new location. A lot is changing for 2009.

I used to think God was like Uncle Ed. You know Uncle Ed. We all have one. The distant relative you see once every couple of years. Well, you’re twenty now. Uncle Ed is at Christmas dinner. And Uncle Ed smells like bad aftershave and Velveeta cheese.

“Come ‘ere darlin’,” he gives you a stiff pat. You wonder if he even remembers your name.

There is a vague connection. A sense of obligation. A distant affection.

I used to think God’s love was more like the distant affection of Uncle Ed than the personal, passionate love of a father.

In C.J. Mahaney’s message God as Father: Understanding the Doctrine of Adoption in God’s Word at New Attitude 2008, he asked this question: “Do the words ‘closeness’, ‘affection’, and ‘generosity’ characterize your perception of God towards you?”

To be completely honest, those were the last words that came to mind when I thought of God. God was Uncle Ed, conked out on the couch after too much turkey, hurling passively annoyed grunts at anyone who made too much noise. God wasn’t furiously angry—I knew that because Jesus had absorbed the wrath of God on the cross for my sins. Still, I assumed God must be mildly displeased with me. After all, I still messed up so often. C.J.’s words were a dose of sweet medicine to correct my faulty understanding: “God sent forth his Son with an atoning purpose and an adopting purpose. God’s purpose did not conclude with redemption, it culminated with adoption.”

C.J.’s message was the highlight of my New Attitude 2008 because I realized something: God wasn’t Uncle Ed. He was my Father. He was personal, he was close. He didn’t “merely tolerate me.” And he didn’t smell like bad aftershave and Velveeta. He didn’t die for me just to atone for my sins, but to adopt me into a family. This has been one of the most profound transforming truths of my Christian journey.