The Ark of Salvation is the Church

Today’s Reading from Genesis 7.6-9 - Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came upon the earth. And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him went into the ark, to escape the waters of the flood. Of clean animals, and of animals that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, two and two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah.

Just when you think you are about to drown in the struggles of life, remember these few verses from today’s reading in Genesis. At the old age of six hundred, Noah and his family were taken into the Ark and saved from the flood. You may not be six hundred, but you WILL be taken into the Ark of Salvation and saved when you join yourself to Christ.

As we read the stories of the Old Testament, we must remember that God, since that moment when Eve ate the fruit, was been preparing the world to receive the Savior Christ. Stories such as the Great Flood remind us that as human beings we tend toward sin and death, but God never forgets us.

The Church is the Ark of Salvation and when we join the Church, we join Christ and enter into His Ark to be saved from the flood of death that surrounds us. Noah and his family floated for many days on the waters until they subsided. Likewise we will float for many days until the waters subside and we enter into God’s Kingdom.

This is an appropriate image to hold during Great Lent, when our fasting and increased prayer, worship, and almsgiving attract the attention of the devil who continually sends waves of struggle against our life. The waves won’t last forever. Noah eventually set his feet on dry ground, and you will eventually set your feet in heaven.