Christmas Through Their Eyes: When God Entered Real Lives

Bruno Borges, Ph.D.

Every year, we hear the Christmas story. We sing it, we read it, we retell it. And rightly so—this is the story of God entering the world in the person of Jesus Christ.

But there’s a quiet danger in familiarity.

When we hear the same story year after year, it can slowly become something we observe rather than something we enter. We focus—rightly—on Jesus, yet sometimes we miss the people God chose to bring His redemption into the world. And when we miss the people, we often miss the application.

The Christmas story is not only about what happened in Bethlehem—it’s about how God stepped into real human lives.

Mary was a young woman with no social power, no protection, and no guarantees. Saying “yes” to God meant risking her reputation, her future, and possibly her safety. Yet God did not remove her vulnerability—He entered it. Jesus came through her obedience, reminding us that God’s purposes often unfold through surrender rather than certainty.

Joseph faced a different cost. In a culture shaped by honor and shame, obedience meant absorbing disgrace that was not his own. He had the legal right to protect his reputation, yet he chose to protect God’s promise instead. His quiet faith placed him at the center of salvation history—not through recognition, but through obedience.

Elizabeth knew the ache of long waiting. Years of disappointment and unanswered prayer shaped her story. Yet when God moved, her joy was not limited to her own miracle. She recognized the Messiah before He was born and rejoiced in God’s work in others. Her story reminds us that delayed hope is not denied hope.

The shepherds lived on the margins—overlooked, distrusted, and excluded from the religious center of society. And yet, they were the first to hear the announcement that the Savior had come. God chose the overlooked to be the first witnesses of the gospel. Their fear turned to joy, and their encounter with Jesus transformed them into the first evangelists of the incarnation.

Even the innkeeper, mentioned only briefly, has something to teach us. Bethlehem was crowded. Resources were limited. Life was full. And yet God entered anyway. Jesus was born not in ideal conditions, but in humility—reminding us that God does not wait for perfect circumstances to accomplish His purposes.

And then there were the wise men—outsiders, seekers, Gentiles. Their pursuit of truth led them across borders and into danger. When they found Jesus, their wisdom turned into worship. They did not simply observe the King; they bowed before Him. And after encountering Christ, they returned home by another way—changed.

Each of these people encountered the same Jesus. But He met them in very different places: vulnerability, obedience, waiting, obscurity, limitation, and searching.

The incarnation did not erase their circumstances—it redeemed them.

That is the good news of Christmas for us today. Wherever we find ourselves—afraid, waiting, busy, overlooked, uncertain, or seeking—the same Christ still comes there.

The question is not simply, Do we know the Christmas story?

The deeper question is: Where do we see ourselves in it?

This Christmas, may we not only remember that Jesus came into the world—but may we also recognize that He still enters our stories, bringing light, redemption, and hope.

Merry Christmas!