Snapping Turtles and Sharing God's Love

So there I was...

This morning I was driving to work and saw a man pull over by the side of the road, hop out, and grab a snapping turtle by the tail.  I am assuming the next step was to throw it into the back of his truck, but it brought back fond memories...

Many moons ago, my mother was driving somewhere and saw a rather sizable snapping turtle in the middle of the road.  Moved by compassion, she stopped the car and got out to carry said turtle across the road.  Reaching down as anyone untrained in proper-snapping-turtle-carrying-form might do, she grabbed the turtle on either side of the shell and then--

realized that it's neck was far longer than she had imagined and that it was not at all happy about her attempts to rescue it from the impending danger sitting idling on the road behind it.

As a child, it was a hysterical scene to watch.

As a Christian, it's a lesson for those of us who try to save the world without considering the effects our 'saving' has on those whom might not see the world from the same level we do.

I can easily  make the argument that my attempts to rescue others are the best thing for them, whether they know it or not.  But in doing so, I remove their side of the equation, assuming that my knowledge is sufficient for all parties involved in the conversation.  I can be so busy working I'm not able to hear their voice, their stories, their concerns.

What if, when going forward to 'save the world', we took the first step of sitting down and listening, honestly, to the voice of those whom we are 'saving'?  How would that change the next step?  Maybe we'd see everything a little differently.  Maybe we'd understand the systemic problems that are running roughshod over millions (billions?) of people in this world.  Maybe we'd be a little better about seeing one another as created in the image of God, rather than as objects to be saved by us.

We can't truly save anyone, anyway.  That's up to God.  We can allow our lives to become conduits of God's grace and mercy, and God can work through us, but ultimately we all stand before God as sinners in need of mercy.

May we go forth with humility, willing to wander into the middle of the road, but doing so ready to sit and listen for a while.