As a child I enjoyed my miniature Noah's ark and its many wooden animals. I listened to the Bible story of Noah's goodness and obedience and his deliverance from the flood.

But as I grew older, I began to be troubled by the logistics of the rather detailed Bible narrative—by the problem of two huge elephants and two giraffes with their long necks fitting into the ark, and particularly the bales of hay that would be necessary for the long voyage.

But Christian Science changed all that. I learned that the story of Noah's material experience had deep spiritual significance. I turned my thought from the logistics of elephants and hay to the unfoldment of divine Mind's unlimited spiritual ideas. The perception of the material senses was replaced in some measure by the realization of Mind as the creator of the universe.

Mrs. Eddy writes, "Metaphysics resolves things into thoughts, and exchanges the objects of sense for the ideas of Soul."^{Science and Health, p. 269;} What is the higher significance of this story of Noah and the ark? For me it lies in Noah's implicit obedience to God and in his confidence in God's guidance despite the criticism and ridicule of all outside his immediate family. Noah acted; he followed the guidance of spiritual consciousness. And when the disaster came, he was ready. He and his family were saved.

Christ Jesus showed us how to build our "ark." When the wealthy young man asked what he should do to inherit eternal life, the Master told him, "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me."^{Matt. 19:21;}

We can all build better "arks" by following the guidance of the Master and by using the materials, or understanding, supplied by Spirit. Matter and disease lose the appearance of substance as we perceive the concreteness of spiritual substance. "Consciousness constructs a better body when faith in matter has been conquered,"^{Science and Health, p. 425;} writes Mrs. Eddy.

Christian Science shows us the need for daily prayer to ensure our safety from the evils mankind would like to avoid. But it also shows us the total unreality of those evils and the allness of good. Two parts of Mrs. Eddy's definition of "ark" in the Glossary of Science and Health are "Safety" and "the understanding of Spirit, destroying belief in matter." And in the second paragraph of her definition she gives us this absolute statement: "God and man coexistent and eternal."^{ibid., p. 581;}

A study of the complete definition, together with the Bible story of Noah, shows us the true spiritual meaning of the story. It opens the way in our search for safety from all human afflictions. It shows us how to build our ark.

In this spiritual idea of ark there are no physical logistics, no troublesome details of material limitations. We are working with the pure substance of infinite Spirit. We may face criticism, ridicule, even envy, condemnation, and hatred, but we are building with the true substance of Mind. Mind, God, made man in His image; and "God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good."^{Gen. 1:31.} This statement, understood, counteracts all material resistance.

Our ark of spiritual understanding is always ready for any emergency, temptation, or fear. And we are always building our ark, making it stronger and more secure, sealing its seams with love, so that no flood of error can penetrate. Our ark can never sink. It is the exemplification of universal salvation.