Being a Bug Zapper Unto Life

In my devotions last night (and I tread lightly when I call them devotions, after listening to one of Jim Cymbala's teachings on what true devotion is), I came across Matthew 9:10:

"And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples."

In this gospel, and the others that speak of the same occasion, I noticed something that kinda struck me as important. You know, we hear that "Jesus ate with sinners" just about everywhere we turn nowadays. Mostly from folks who believe that because He ate with these publicans and sinners, that he "accepted" their 'alternative' lifestyles (And why is it that today we have ventured to replace the word 'sinful' with 'alternative'?). Anyways, I noticed that Jesus sat, and then behold many [sinners] came and sat.

A few years ago I recall Joyce Meyer teaching on this verse, and she reminded her listeners that, "Jesus was affecting those folks...they weren't infecting Him". That couldn't have struck a truer chord. Jesus was one of those folks with a magnetic Spirit. And how blessed we are to have that same glorious Spirit in us! One that need not search high and low for sinners to minister to, for they are drawn unto it, like a moth to a flame.

Let us be sure that the closer they get, the more they see Christ in us. Think of it as being a bug zapper that brings 'em to life rather than death...