The thought that God is a distant God, and that Heaven is "far, far away," is contrary to all the teaching of the Bible. God's all-presence and Heaven's nearness are the leading themes of Scripture. "The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." said Jesus, not once or twice, but repeatedly. The circumstances surrounding his birth afford a most beautiful and impressive picture of the nearness of Heaven and earth. The brilliant star, the angelic song, the glorious message of peace and good will, foreshadow in splendid metaphor, as well as the fact of actual occurrence, the truth of Jesus' declaration of Heaven's nearness.
Heaven and earth are near. Remove sin from earth,—that is from human thought and action,—and earth is Heaven and Heaven is earth. The sinless condition is Heaven; the sinful condition is Hell. This is the line of division. To teach and demonstrate the sinless life was Jesus' mission, and well may his coming have been heralded by striking signs of Heaven's nearness to earth. Let an increasing sense of Heaven's presence in our consciousness be our celebration of the Christ-mass. Then it matters little how much we externally observe the Christmas ceremonials.
