What is a man of faith? Mrs. Eddy shows us in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 23) that faith is an active spiritual quality, whose existence can be proved by demonstration. She says true faith "demands self-reliant trustworthiness, which includes spiritual understanding and confides all to God." Surely, then, Noah may be called a man of faith. From his birth he seems to have been dedicated to serve and comfort the world; while the various experiences of his human childhood and manhood appear but to have developed in him a greater realization of the transitory nature of material things, and a stronger faith in the permanency and immortality of that which is spiritual.
It was this faith and spiritual understanding that gave Noah whatever power he had to resist evil, so that he could do God's saving work when the time came. This time came when the Adam-dream had multiplied and the false testimony of the senses increased, till "every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil" and had begotten greater evils, until "there were giants in the earth in those days." Having no basis in Truth, they contained the elements of self-destruction. As error multiplied, it corrupted the earth; for deterioration had already set in, and violence and strife were the natural results. Fear had overtaken them.
But Spirit is never without its witness. Throughout all this turmoil of so-called mortal mind, Noah was not deluded by the seeming power of material things. Through his recognition of the powerlessness of evil and his faith in good, he became a witness of Spirit, of the governing power of omnipotence. Every trial of his faith but made it stronger, until he was able to express God's protecting power in an ark of safety that would ride the waves of error and withstand whatever storm mortal belief might claim to produce. This ark, conceived by divine inspiration, —the command of God,—Noah built while as yet the flood had not overtaken them. Steadily, day by day, its building went on, despite human laws and opinions, despite mockeries and railings, according to measurements of righteousness as given by God. Thus Noah proved for all time that by adhering to divine Principle, measuring our work by the divine standard, as far as we are able, our Father does open the way for its accomplishment. He showed that nothing can hinder one if he obey the truth that is in him; for, as John declares, "Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world."
The triumph of Noah's active demonstration of faith was at hand. As the darkness, the mists of error, deepened, we are told that God repented having made men, and a flood arose that destroyed them. In reality, as Mrs. Eddy points out in Science and Health (p. 293), this so-called "anger of the Lord" showed the self-destruction of error and the permanency of Spirit.
Noah, having obeyed God, was ready to meet this destroying flood. He had finished the building of the ark. He had taken all the necessary human footsteps in his demonstration of faith in. God's protecting power, and was now ready at the command of God to enter this place of refuge, taking with him all those of the household of faith, and also those creatures which typified the lesser ideas of God, that no link in the chain of spiritual development should be broken. Here Noah and those with him remained in perfect safety, despite the flood of error that rose about them, till God made a wind to pass over the earth and the waters were dried up. Error sank into its native nothingness.
In this we see symbolized the renewing wind of Spirit preparing the way for the clearer understanding of God's government and the unfolding of His power that makes all things new. The ark now came to rest on mount Ararat, which typifies the altitude of their spiritual consciousness. It was as if God had said, "Be still, and know that I am God." So they waited on God, even after the dove, which had been sent forth in faith and hope, returned with an olive branch, which told of a purified world at peace. They waited to be sure that it was His voice that called them forth to test their spiritual strength once more in the world where their faith must again be illumined by works.
When this call came, a glorified sense of earth stretched before them. Here, with hearts overflowing with gratitude, they raised an altar of thanksgiving and praise to God for His all-protecting power. The sincerity shown in this act of gratitude and worship by Noah and those with him received its quick reward from ever present divine Love. First there appeared the blessing of confidence in God that sincerity of thought and deed always brings. Then God established a covenant with them, a token of His love,—"I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth," not for any limited time, but for every creature for all generations. Thus the ark has become a prototype of that spiritual ark of salvation built without hands.—the spiritual understanding of the Christ, Truth,—whereby all who will cast aside their materialistic beliefs and exercise faith in God may be saved from error of every kind.
We may then take heart, if we are living the faith that is in us, that however heavy the clouds may be, or however loud error may thunder, nevertheless His bow of light and of promise will span the heavens, a sign of God's omnipotence, of His protecting power, and of His love. Let us respond with greater faith and understanding to Mrs. Eddy's words in "The People's Idea of God" (p. 3), where she says: "Let us rejoice that the bow of omnipotence already spans the moral heavens with light, and that the more spiritual idea of good and Truth meets the old material thought like a promise upon the cloud, while it inscribes on the thoughts of men at this period a more metaphysical religion founded upon Christian Science."
