Hidden Signs

This pewter plate, currently displayed at the British Museum, was unearthed at Stamford, Lincolnshire, and dates to the 4th century AD. The crude decoration lacks the geometrical precision seen on other vessels of the period, both silver and pewter. Its particular interest are the two crosses worked into the radiating panels. The haphazard design obscures these Christian symbols, the cross and the Chi-Rho, the first two letters of Christ in Greek. Could this be deliberate, to ensure recognition only by other Christians?

Persecuted believers must balance the need for discretion against the need for fellowship and evangelism. Would that God gives us that wisdom when such decisions must be made in our land.