So Hard to Believe
by: Craig J. Sefa
This week’s song for Advent is called “So Hard to Believe.”
If we’re really honest, the idea that the God of the universe would step out of heaven and become vulnerable as a baby is utterly absurd. So much of the Christmas story, and indeed all of the Gospel, is absurd. This is why Paul says that it is the foolishness of the cross which shames the wise of the world (1 Corinthians 1:18-31). How can the Creator of life die? How can the one who came to save the world not save himself from a shameful criminal’s execution?
This is how Jesus turns everything upside down. This is how the first become last and the last become first. This is how the great become small and the weak become great. This is why it is the meek and humble who will inherit the kingdom of heaven. Everything is upside down… or perhaps we have simply lived in an upside down world for so long that we don’t recognize the truth when Jesus comes to set it right.
Yes, the cross is about Easter, not Christmas. And yet the two cannot be separated. Both Easter and Christmas ultimately reveal to us what it means that Jesus is the incarnate Son of God. They both show us how far God was willing to go to save us. In the incarnation of Christ, whether in the manger or on the cross, we see an Almighty God who is utterly vulnerable and weak. We see a God who must learn to walk and talk and be fed by a teenage mother and we see a God who can be killed by the very people whose very lives depended on their Creator’s breath.
All of this and more is why, if we’re honest, the Gospel is so hard to believe. We should not be surprised when others find it so hard to believe. The story of Jesus, God wrapped in flesh, is perhaps the most absurd story ever told, and yet that’s exactly why it must be believed. If the early disciples were simply trying to start a new religion or gain influence in the world, why start with such a scandalous birth narrative and why end with a Messiah on a cross? Showing us a God who is limited by flesh and blood is not the way to garner faith and trust, let alone worship and obedience. If this God can’t save himself, how can he save us?
And yet it is in the foolishness of the cross, the absurdity of the manger, and the utterly irrational incarnation that we come to know a God who is willing to risk anything to draw near to us, to understand us, to live among us so that we can dwell forever with him. God empathizes with our doubts. Jesus does not scold Thomas for his lack of faith, but rather invites him to feel the scars in his hands and side (John 20:24-31). God invites us to do the same… to see his scars and to hear his cries as a baby trying to sleep among the livestock. God will stop at nothing, even the absurdity and foolishness of putting on flesh, to be with us and to show us the way of life.
As you reflect on this song, what parts of the gospel and in particular the Christmas story are hard for you to believe? Who do you know who is also struggling to believe in a God so high above who knows and loves them more than they could ever imagine?
Let us pray together the prayer of the demon-possessed boy’s father from Mark 9:24, “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.”
So Hard to Believe
Verse 1:
Here I am, face to face with a faceless God
Gazing deep into the eyes of the all-seeing one
How can I hold you when I'm wrapped in your arms?
How can I feed the bread of life?
How can this baby have known me in the womb?
How can the angel's words be true?
Chorus:
All of my life, I've tried so hard to believe
In a God so high above, I wondered could you hear me
But now you're here, wrapped in my flesh and bone
And I'm still tryin' O Lord, so hard to believe
Verse 2:
Giver of life itself bleeding to death
Very breath of creation now taking your last breath
Have those metal spikes pierced you eternally?
Do the scars I gave you still remain?
How can I live with God’s blood on my hands?
Guilty yet forgiven by grace
Chorus
Bridge
The word who spoke creation into being
Now born in the flesh and torn upon a tree
How absurd that God would give his Son
As a precious gift for me, a sinner, yet your child.
Chorus
If you are a musician and would like to play along, you can link to the chord sheet for “So Hard to Believe” here. These are free to copy for personal or public use in worship. I would only ask that you share with me how they are being used.
If you or someone you know would be interested in recording a more professional version of any of these songs, please contact me. I would love to work with you.