"Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you" (James 4:8). This Biblical injunction concerns humanity and its struggle to attain perfection. But Christian Science reveals that there is no hiatus, or gap, between God and man, made in His likeness, which has to be bridged before the two can come together. Christ Jesus' often-quoted declaration, "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30), completely nullifies the belief of any separation between the divine Principle of being, God, and His idea, man.
In reality man never has had, nor could he ever have, any existence apart from his Maker, since all real being is eternally coexistent with Spirit. From a human standpoint, however, we do need to make a consistent and vigorous effort to draw closer to our heavenly Parent and to maintain this scientific sense of unity. This effort is necessary because of the seeming pull in the opposite direction of the evil force which Christian Science terms animal magnetism, opposed to the true force of spiritual gravitation.
Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy contains an instruction which in essence is correlative to the one which opens this article. On page 485 is the injunction, "Emerge gently from matter into Spirit." In another place the thought is expressed in these words (p. 265): "Mortals must gravitate Godward, their affections and aims grow spiritual,—they must near the broader interpretations of being, and gain some proper sense of the infinite,—in order that sin and mortality may be put off."
