Volume 3: The Family Trademark

Day 159 Devotional

THE FAMILY TRADEMARK

A dear friend recently asked me a genuine question that many people assume they already know the answer to: “Aren’t we all children of God?” Without hesitation, I replied, “Absolutely not.”

As surprising as the answer may sound, I didn’t make that distinction—Jesus did. Speaking to a group of deeply religious men who rejected Him, Jesus said, “Ye are of your father the devil” (John 8:44). His words remind us that spiritual family is not determined by religious activity but by whose nature we reflect.

Every family has something that identifies it. Sometimes it is a physical resemblance. Sometimes it is shared values, habits, speech, and character. In God’s family, that identifying mark—His family trademark—is holiness.

REFLECTING THE FATHER’S CHARACTER

We see this principle in everyday life. Biological children often resemble their parents because they share the same DNA. You can recognize the family resemblance in their eyes, smile, or facial features. Adopted children, however, often resemble their family differently—and sometimes in an even deeper way. Though they may never share the same physical appearance, years spent in the home shape the way they think, speak, love, respond, and live. They embrace the values, culture, habits, and character of the family that has received them.

The same is true of God’s children. Our resemblance to our heavenly Father is not found in outward religious appearance but in inward transformation. As we walk with Him, His character becomes evident in our conduct. Scripture calls that holiness.

WHY HOLINESS IS UNPOPULAR

Holiness means to be set apart for God. It is not merely avoiding sin; it is belonging to Him so completely that His character becomes visible in our lives. This is why Peter called believers “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people” (1 Peter 2:9). We live differently because we now belong to a different family.

The first time Scripture calls something holy is in Exodus 3. Moses approached a bush that burned without being consumed, and God said, “Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.”

The ground itself possessed no special quality. It became holy because God was present.

Removing Moses’ sandals did not make the ground holy. God had already declared it holy. The command was Moses’ response to God’s holy presence. What had been ordinary was now set apart because the Holy One was there. Throughout Scripture, God’s presence consistently sets apart what belongs to Him as holy. The tabernacle, the temple, the altar, the Sabbath, and God’s people were all called holy—not because of any inherent quality they possessed, but because God had set them apart for Himself. Moses’ obedience simply acknowledged that reality.

Perhaps that is why holiness has become so unpopular. Holiness requires us to acknowledge that God—not culture, personal preference, or even our own desires—defines what is sacred. It calls us to lay aside whatever cannot enter His presence and to submit to His authority.

Like Moses, we must be willing to lay aside what belongs to the old life in order to live in the presence of the Holy One. Holiness has never been about losing our freedom; it has always been about living in the transforming presence of God.

FROM HOLY GROUND TO HOLY PEOPLE

The same pattern continues. The tabernacle was holy because God dwelled there. The temple was holy because His glory filled it. God’s people were called holy because they belonged to Him.

Under the New Covenant, God’s presence no longer dwells in a bush, a tabernacle, or a temple made with human hands. Through the Holy Spirit, He now dwells within His people.

If God’s presence could transform ordinary ground into holy ground, how much more should His presence transform the lives of those in whom He now lives?

WHY HOLINESS IS NECESSARY

Holiness is not what earns God’s acceptance. Faith does that, for without faith it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6). Yet genuine faith never remains alone. By His grace, God transforms those who trust in Christ into people who increasingly resemble their heavenly Father.

Grace and holiness are not enemies. Grace is the reason holiness is possible. God’s grace not only forgives us; it teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live lives that reflect the One who has adopted us into His family.

We do not pursue holiness to become God’s children. We pursue holiness because we already are.

The church Christ established is holy because it belongs to Him. Just as Moses removed his sandals in response to God’s holy presence, believers are called to put off the old man and put on the new. Paul echoes this same pattern in Colossians, calling believers to “put off the old man with his deeds” and to “put on the new man” (Colossians 3:9–10).

Holiness is never merely about taking something off; it also requires putting something on. We lay aside the old life marked by sin and clothe ourselves with the new life that reflects the character of our heavenly Father.

That is the family trademark.

“But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conduct; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:15–16).