In America, we might tell someone we have an ax to grind, and we know exactly what we mean. The phrase is an idiom, an expression that has lost its original meaning and now says something completely different.
Having an ax to grind means we have a difference of opinion, and we need to hammer it out.
There’s another one, hammer it out. It means to work out our differences, to come to an understanding.
Americans don’t always get English colloquialisms. Both countries have a similar rootstock, with a common language and political system. Yet, we have evolved separately into two different-speaking cultures. A rose by any other name may be a rose, but that’s not always the case when comparing American and British English.
London to a brick. Any U.K. citizen would get that in a heartbeat. It means something is exactly what it appears to be. It’s true. Bona fide. The real deal. If we peel back the skin, the orange is Florida gold.
Christ and the message given through his death on the cross is London to a brick. It’s exactly what it appears to be. Bona fide truth.
The foundation of Christ’s message is found in John 3:16:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Our walls are constructed of Ephesians 2:8:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”
Our roofing system is revealed in Acts 19:5:
“On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
We find our behind-the-scenes infrastructure in 2 Timothy 3:16:
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”
We have to go all in, the whole shebang, if we want to be London to a brick. Christ expects nothing less.
To be like Christ, we have to offer him everything we are, have been, and might be. We can’t hold anything back.
Copyright © 2015 MyChurchNotes.net
Code: FGO.G.16.15c.vp.esv