2 Corinthians 10:11; True Blue

2 Corinthians 10:11 Let such an one think this, that, such as we are in word by letters when we are absent, such will we be also in deed when we are present.

Coventry was a centre for the weaving trade in medieval times, most famously, Coventry was known for cloth dyed a particular shade of blue. The phrase “True blue” is supposed to derive from the blue cloth that was made at Coventry, England in the late middle ages. The town’s dyers had a reputation for producing material that didn’t fade with washing, that is, it remained ‘fast’ or ‘true’. The Coventry story also has the added credence of closely matching the ‘steadfast, unwavering’ meaning of the phrase.

The phrase ‘as true as Coventry blue’ originated then and is still used (in Coventry at least). The town’s standing was recorded in 1670 by John Ray in the first edition of A Compleat Collection of English Proverbs:

“Coventry had formerly the reputation for dying of blues; insomuch that true blue became a Proverb to signifie one that was always the same and like himself.”

The Apostle Paul declared that he was who he was. Whether in person or absent as represented by his letters, it is still him, the Apostle Paul, the man who met the Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus and was blinded and had his life course changed to serve his Master, Jesus.

Thank God for giving us His Word that is truly handed down to us from the pen of the Apostle Paul for our spiritual strengthening. May God’s people cherish and read and meditate upon His Word. Amen.