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<>< What does the Christian fish symbol (ixthus) mean?
Greeks, Romans, and many other pagans used the fish symbol before Christians. Hence the fish, unlike, say, the Cross, attracted little suspicion, making it a perfect secret symbol for persecuted believers of the first century. Christianity had been declared illegal and public gatherings of Christians were not allowed. When threatened and persecuted by Romans in the first centuries after Christ, Christians used the fish symbol to mark meeting places and tombs, or to distinguish friends from foes.
According to one ancient tradition, when a Christian would encounter a stranger along the road, the Christian sometimes drew one arc of the simple fish outline in the dirt. If the stranger drew the other arc, both believers knew they were in good company. Current bumper-sticker and business-card uses of the fish hearken back to this practice.
Certainly this divinely provided reminder speaks volumes about what is at the heart of the Christian's faith. Jesus - He lived and walked among us so He could die for us. Christ - the Messiah that believers in the Only True God had been anticipating coming for 6000 years, the answer to the Jews' hope in the fulfillment of God's promises to Abraham. God's Son - the only begotten Son, sent to earth on a mission, totally God, totally man, and totally committed to accomplishing the Father's mission. Savior - He was made sin for us who were already dead in our sin, died to pay the penalty for our sins, and was resurrected from the grave so that we could be redeemed to a new eternal life.
Whether we use the fish symbol or not, we all should find ways to be identifiable as followers of Jesus Christ. Each of us are the only opportunity countless lost souls will encounter the truth of the Gospel!
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33