This is a BUSY time of year. There are the year-end deadlines and reports to wrap up. Fun stuff. And then there is the holiday busy-ness – office parties, cards to get out, tree and house decorating, travel plans and gatherings with relatives. Is there anything the kids see that is worth catching through this season?

In this second week of Advent, the candle lit represents the FAITH Christians have in the miracle conception and birth of the Lord Jesus in Bethlehem. Born of the virgin Mary, the Savior came into the world. Mary did not understand how it would be possible but her response to Gabriel reflected a devout faith in God – “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38). Mary had caught the faith her parents lived through their teaching and example.

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped inside her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she exclaimed with a loud cry: “Blessed are you among women, and your child will be blessed! How could this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For you see, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped for joy inside me. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill what He has spoken to her!” – Luke 1:41-45. There were actually two miracle births within six months of each other. One was by ‘natural’ conception, yet Elizabeth had been baron and both she and her husband Zacharias were “well along in years.” When an angel of the Lord appeared to Zacharias and told him that his wife would bear him a son, he responded with his faith in religion and doubt ensued. The angel struck him dumb until his son, John, was born. The second miracle birth was by immaculate conception. Mary’s faith and trust in the Lord God was affirmed when she visited her cousin Elizabeth. Similarly, whatever faith a dad has is affirmed as he sees his kids mature. Whether dad reflects his faith in the world, in religion or in Christ, children will catch what he has. The charge for every dad is to make sure that what he has is what he wants the kids to catch.

Tips to convey a Faith Worth Catching:

• Lead a family discussion time around faith with candid vulnerability;
• Read Hebrews, chapter 11 as a family and discuss the “reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen”;
• Share Reverend Tony Evans’ unique definition, “Faith is acting like something is so even when it is not so in order that it might be so simply because God said so.”;
• Be vulnerable with a friend this week by discussing the faith you reflect day-to-day.

Prayer guide: Father, thank You for the miracle births – one that prepared the way for the Lord and One that established the Way to You. I confess that I have conveyed mixed messages around the holidays and have caused disconnect from the true Reason for this season. Forgive me. Help me convey a faith worth catching, the faith my kids need to see. Grant me strength to lead my family in the faith I have in You. I pray they catch my relationship with You as we celebrate the miracle birth of Your Son, Jesus the Christ. That is the dad You call me to be, and that’s the dad the next generation needs. Amen.

A faithful father makes sure the faith he has is worth catching.