You've probably seen this image on bumper stickers, car decals, church signs, jewelry and even on web-sites!  But do you know what it is?

This fish is called "icthus". It is the Greek word for "fish".

An explanation of the ICTHUS How it was used ICTHUS is an acrostic. It is a symbol that was used by early Christians to covertly identify each other at a time when Rome was persecuting them. Christians could put this mark on their homes or in the dirt on the road in front of their homes to indicate to other Christians that they shared the same faith.

What it means ICTHUS is an acrostic. It is a symbol that was used by early Christians to covertly identify each other when Rome was persecuting them. In Greek, ICTHUS is spelled "ICQUS". As is the case with acrostics, each letter represents another word.

Why do I have this on my body?
I chose to permanently put this on my body for several reasons.  Because I want other Christians to recognize this when they see it.  In our society, so many people are reluctant to talk to others.  By seeing this symbol, Christians realize that we have at least one thing in common to talk about.  It reminds me of my responsibility to share my faith with the world.  Some people choose to wear a cross around their neck others may choose some type of clothing to show their belief.  I choose a tattoo.  Many people have asked what this stands for.  That gives me the perfect opportunity to tell them about being a Christian.  To find out more information on Christians and tattoos read this excellent article by Larry Overton.

A Christian?
A Christian is someone who is going to heaven.  The Bible is very clear about the qualifications for heaven. Perfection. So the only problem is that no one is perfect. So, how does anyone qualify?  Thankfully, the Bible is very clear about this, too!  Unfortunately, there aren't many people who take the Bible seriously about this.  They'll agree that it has good teachings about morals, but don't consider that the Bible may not be about earning our way into Heaven.  Take another look at the acrostic--"Jesus Christ, God's Son, Saviour".  The answer to our problem is Jesus Christ, He's our Saviour. 

What makes Jesus the answer?
The Bible is very clear that Jesus is the only person who has ever lived who is perfect and qualifies for heaven on His own merit.  The Bible is also clear that Jesus is God's only Son.  The arrangement that God made is very straightforward.

So what's the deal?
So, a life of perfection will get us into Heaven; otherwise, an eternity in Hell.  Once again we find that the Bible deals very frankly with the arrangement that God made.  If we will believe that Jesus Christ is God's Son, that He led a perfect life, and was willing to take our place for the punishment that we deserved.  Not only do we need to believe this, but we need to trust it with our eternal future.

Believing vs. Trusting
There is a real difference between believing something and trusting in something.  Take, for example, a chair.  There is a chair in your home.  You look at it and identify it as a chair.  The chair looks sturdy.  You think that it will hold your weight without breaking apart and landing you on your back-side.  You're even willing to write a sworn statement that you are confident that it will hold your weight.  You believe that it will support you.  But you still haven't trusted it.  How do you trust it?  All we need to do is sit on the chair to demonstrate our trust.

Show our trust
One of the biggest problems that we face is that so often we will go to great lengths to show that we believe that Jesus is God's Son, that He lived a perfect life for us and that He died for us.  Unfortunately, we fail to trust in these facts.  How do we show our trust?  Quite simply, stop trying to earn our way into Heaven.  By trying to do what we consider to be "good" as our way into Heaven, we are actually demonstrating that we don't trust that who Jesus was and what Jesus did was not enough...that we don't trust.

Good works
Does this mean that we shouldn't do good works?  Certainly not!  It means that good works won't get us into heaven.  Neither will going to church, nor being baptized, nor taking communion, nor any other thing we can do.  These things may show that we believe that the Bible is true, but don't demonstrate that we trust Jesus as our only way into Heaven.

Where does this leave you? 
If you were to die today and were to find yourself standing before God, and He were to ask you this simple question, "Why should I let you into My Heaven?", what would you say?  That is something to seriously consider.  I know that I'd be saying something to the effect, "You shouldn't because I don't deserve it, but I was trusting that what Jesus did on my behalf was all I needed."  Wouldn't it be nice if He did ask us?  Then we could have a pat answer ready, but I doubt we'll have a chance once we're dead.  You need to have that answer squared away now, not only in words, though, in your whole life.

What now?
If you're unsure of what to do with this information, please feel free email us with any of your questions.  If you have a problem with anything you've seen here, email us with those concerns, too.  If you're not comfortable emailing us, here are some books to read that might help with some of your questions: