Ichthys
What does this mean? Is it simply the symbol of Jesus's miraculous feeding of the 5,000 using two fish? Ichthys (pronounced "ich-thuse") is a Greek word meaning "fish". But it means so much more...
In the second century in Rome, Christians used this secret symbol to recognize churches and other believers during a time when they faced persecution in the Roman Empire. When approaching someone on the road, one Christian would draw an arc in the dirt with a walking stick, and if the other was friendly to the cause, he would draw an intersecting arc (resembling a fish) as a symbol of the belief that they had in common.
‘Son of God’ and ‘Saviour of the world’ were titles claimed by Augustus Caesar who was the Roman Emperor at the time of Jesus’ birth. The followers of Jesus boldly proclaimed that it was not Caesar but Jesus Christ who is Lord, the true Son of God and Savior of the world.
The initial letters of the words in that simple statement in Greek intriguingly spelled out the word for ‘fish,’ which thus became an early symbol of allegiance to Christ. But it is also an acronym for "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior"! Some further realized that the letters could all be found in a single disc cut into 8 segments like a loaf of flat bread.
One of the first evidences of this was found in the ancient Greek city of Ephesus, which I was able to see in Turkey a few years ago.
I wanted to add something unique to this line. Something that had deep meaning behind it, would grab attention and lend itself to questions being asked, but most importantly, something that would leave those around you with a message and reminder. Jesus IS the true Son of God and Savior of the world. Amen.