Go Ahead, Juxtapose

   Is there ever a word that we read, we kinda know its meaning, but are never quite sure we get it right, and have to always look it up to be sure. A word that is like that for me is juxtaposition.

              juxtaposition

   The online dictionary defines it thusly:

an act or instance of placing close together or side by side, especiallyfor comparison or contrast. or

the state of being close together or side by side.

   I thought of that as I was reading this morning. A verse from Psalm 115:

                     O Israel, trust in the Lord!
                     He is their deliverer and protector.

   The Psalmist is speaking of Israel, God's chosen people, but as we read it in New Testament times it can refer to anyone that God calls His, so it can be a promise to Christians as well.

   I wrote Monday about the new book I had received for Christmas, a book about one room schoolhouses in Montana. I have not finished reading the whole book, mainly because I get caught up in the pictures, but I have run into at least two instances where the schools are connected to a Hutterite colony.

   Way back in the recesses of my mind, I know I have heard this name, but there my knowledge ended. So I looked it up and read of the Anabaptist people, German speaking, originally from Moravia in Austrian Europe, who came to the US and Canada to escape persecution and settled mainly in the areas of the Plains of the northern US and southern Canada (The Dakotas, Montana, Manitoba, Alberta).

   They resemble the Amish and Mennonite Brethren, but live communally, in self contained agricultural colonies. Estimated numbers for these folk are around 50,000, living in a bunch of colonies in North America.

   Their way of life is much different from mine, but their faith creeds seem very similar.

   Can I use the word juxtaposition here? When I place what I know about these families alongside my Christian lifestyle, I see two groups looking like complete opposites, but, in reality, walking the same road, following the same Book, and being led by the same God.

   My tendency is to treat them as belonging to a tourist destination, something to go and see, but if I look closely, I see real men and women, boys and girls, living out their Christian faith, much as I do in my own life, just the details of lifestyle differ.

   Perhaps I need to juxtapose more often...