Month: January 2019

TThrough the centuries there have been many powerful symbols used of Christianity. One of the earliest is the fish, and that’s appropriate because there are many references to fish and fishing in the Gospels. -Jesus told his apostles to lay down their nets and follow him, and he would make them “fishers of men,” (Matthew 4:18, 19). But there is another, better, reason. The Greek word for fish, ichthus, (pronounced “ik-thoos”) is an acronym for Christians:

I is the first letter in the name “Jesus” (I in Greek is the same as J in English)

Ch is the Greek letter “Chi,” the first letter in “Christ.”

Th is the Greek letter “Theta,” the first letter in “Theos,” “God.”

U is the first letter in the Greek word for “son.”

S is the first letter in the Greek word for “savior.”

When you put them all together, it spells “Ichthus” (“Fish”) which stands for “Jesus Christ, God’s Son, and Savior.” Some writers have even speculated it was a kind of sign/counter-sign for early Christians as they traveled during times of persecution. When you entered a new city and were trying to find other Christians, you would casually draw the lower half of the fish symbol in the dust. If the other person was a brother, he would draw the upper half completing the symbol. I’m not sure that is true, but it is a beautiful story isn’t it?

Other Christian symbols were the lamb, the Good Shepherd with the lamb on his shoulders (Luke 15), the “Chi-Rho” symbol (It looks like an X with a P – the Greek letter R – superimposed on it. These are the first two Greek letters for “Christ.”), the Alpha and Omega (the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet signifying Jesus is the beginning and the end. See Revelation 1:8; 21:6; 22:13), the anchor (Hebrews 6:18, 19), and even the pelican (legend says when a pelican can’t find food for its young, it wounds itself and feeds them on her blood).

Of course, the most famous symbol of all is the cross, but there are two variations: the cross and the crucifix. The difference is a crucifix portrays Jesus hanging on it. This symbol plays a powerful role in Catholicism, however I believe the cross is the better symbol for all of us because while on a crucifix, Jesus never gets off the cross, we worship a Risen Savior who triumphed over death and that is why we celebrate, and that is why we have hope of eternal life!

I really hate going to the mall. I find them crowded and frantic and full of rude people. On the other hand, I enjoy sitting down with a good cup of coffee and watching the people go by. People watching is great fun, and there is no better place than the mall to observe them.

One person, in particular, intrigues me. You’ve seen him. He walks by the big glass storefronts and stares at his reflection. Perhaps a hair is out of place, or his pants aren’t hanging just right. Narcissus of the Mall quickly makes an adjustment and then grins, self-satisfied. Now comes the fun part. Watch him do exactly the same thing when he walks in front of the next storefront!

In the first century, they didn’t have the fine, silvered glass mirrors that we enjoy today. The best they had were highly polished metal mirrors, and mirrors were prized possessions. While I was in Jerusalem a few years ago, I was fascinated with a display of artifacts archaeologists had discovered in a cave in the desert. There was a goatskin bag, stuffed with straw, wrapped around an ancient mirror. As I stared at the mirror, I tried to imagine the owner. Of all the things she could have taken with her as she fled the Roman soldiers, why did she choose her mirror? 

It’s always wise to be prepared for emergencies and to have a box of essentials packed and ready to go in case you need to evacuate. In that box you might include important papers, perhaps some cash and a few priceless heirlooms but would you include a mirror? I suppose it would depend on how vain you are.

James the brother of Jesus wrote:

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing, (James 1:22 – 25).

The Bible is like a mirror. It is full of stories, and as we read them, we identify with the characters and situations. As we see ourselves in the story, the Bible is like a mirror. The important point is: do we use the mirror as a tool, something that allows us to put things in order, or do we, like Narcissus of the Mall, merely see the Bible as a source of endless entertainment?