Who you are when no one else is watching is as good a definition of character as I’ve heard. How we act when we are on our own, with no one around, is a pretty good gauge of our character. What about God? Who is God when he is “alone"? On his own, God is all about salvation, all about kindness and compassion. Jesus’ birth in a backwater town, almost unacknowledged, points to this essential character and reminds us that God’s intense passion to save us is not about us, but about him and invites us to turn to him.