The Star, Truth and Tax Reform

For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles.

Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers with the truth.

III John 7,8

Yesterday, Rita and I went to see "The Star," the new animated movie about the Nativity.  It's a very cute film, imaginative, amazingly well-done, and follows remarkably closely the biblical narrative according to Luke - with a few innovations for entertainment's sake.

However, one thing bothered me.  I wish they had included Joseph's dream, in which the angel tells Joseph not to be afraid to marry Mary, and in which he tells him, "you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins."  The movie refers to Jesus repeatedly as a king, but I don't recall at any point there being any reference to His being the Savior, an omission that pretty well misses the point. 

The writers of the screen play seem to avoid mentioning the whole purpose for the eternal Son of God entering the world as a human being.  It’s a little like making a movie about Thomas Edison and leaving out the part about him inventing the incandescent light bulb. So the movie, while cute and wonderfully entertaining, presents only a partial truth concerning the birth of Jesus.  And a partial truth, when you’re dealing with something as earth-shattering as the incarnation of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, amounts to an untruth.

As we celebrate Christmas, as we gaze at the little baby in the manger, we don't often think of that day in His future, when He would stand before Pilate and say, "For this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world, to bear witness to the truth."  Of all the things He could have said at the moment of his examination by the person holding sway over His physical life, it is telling that He says His purpose for coming into the world was to bear witness to the truth.  Apparently God thinks it is a big deal for humans to learn what's true.

And with Jesus, it was always "show and tell."  He embodied the message He came to tell.  It wasn't enough to tell people that they are sinners who need to repent.  Many prophets had come before Him and did just that.  It wasn't enough that He should die a martyr's death, in consequence of His giving them a message they did not like to hear.  Others before Him had done that as well.  It was not enough that He tell us how to live selfless lives of loving one another.  No, He embodied the truth of His message by laying down His life in our place.  The baby in the manger grew up to give His all, in order all to redeem His people from the just consequence of their sins.  He didn't just tell people the truth; He validated it with His lifeblood.

The Apostle John tells the readers of his third epistle that we ought to support those in service to the gospel, in order that we may be fellow workers with them...fellow workers for the truth.  Amazing as it is that Jesus came into the world to save His people from their sins, and to bear witness to the truth, it is equally as amazing that you and I get the opportunity to participate with Jesus as "fellow workers for the truth."  By supporting those He has called as laborers in His harvest, we can enter into the work of spreading the good news - the truth - about Jesus.  For this reason Rita and I give enthusiastically out of our means to enable missionaries to fulfill their ministry.  For the same reason, we also give to the ministry of our local church.  We want to be fellow workers for the truth.

I've been hearing that, as Congress works out the new tax reform package, they are considering removing the deduction for charitable giving.  Many think this will take away people's incentive to give, and that organizations and ministries that depend on donations will suffer.  Maybe for some that will be the case.  But when it comes to the work of the gospel, I confess I don't donate to it so that I can get a tax break.  As I said, Rita and I want to be fellow-workers for the truth, especially in a world that, more than anything, needs to know what the truth is.  And I'm pretty sure my fellow Christians feel pretty much the same.   The opportunity to work with Jesus get to the truth out there - Truth whose purpose is to populate heaven and depopulate hell - is enough incentive for us.