A Godly LifeSample

The fish Where I live people love to advertise their life philosophies. Their three favorite “personal billboards” are their T-shirts, their tattoos, and the rear bumpers of their cars. You can read unbelievably frank expressions of their views on politics, religion, and gender. Sometimes you can tell you’re following a Christian driver because of a simple line drawing on a bumper sticker — a fish. In the original Greek of the New Testament, the first letters of “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior” spell out the Greek word for fish (ICHTHYS). The “fish” was an insider logo that early Christians used to find each other in the big cities. You may or may not wish to use fish imagery as you express yourself, but the Christian content behind it is not optional. Your one hope of a great relationship with God in the here and now is through Christ alone. Your one hope of a happy eternity on the other side of the grave is through Christ alone. St. Peter, once a fisherman and later an apostle, knew doubt and fear, but he found this comfort and certainty: “To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord” (2 Peter 1:1,2).