My Refrigerator Friend

A year and a half ago, our lives changed for the better when we welcomed our exchange son into our family.  This was a first for all of us!  And we marveled at how brave he was to leave his home and all that was familiar to him, go to a foreign country that spoke a different language and live with a family he did not know.  And he did this all at the ripe old age of sixteen! 

http://www.sxc.hu/photo/9503

 

I spent a good amount of time in those first few days, showing him around our house, explaining where things were and how they worked.  My one desire for him was that he would eventually come to feel like this was home.  So I told him more than once, “I will know that you feel at home in our house when you go to the refrigerator and get a drink or something to eat without asking.”  I will never forget the first time I saw him do just that! 

 

While reading Ephesians 3:16-17 (NLT) this week,  “. . .that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit. Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him . . .",  I was reminded of what I had said to our "adopted son" in those first days in our house.   

 

As I reflected on what it would look like for Christ to be at home in my heart. I wondered how comfortable Christ was in my heart.  Was He relaxed enough to open my refrigerator and get something out?   Would I qualify Him as my “refrigerator friend” or would he just be a frequent guest? 

 

I want Christ to be at home in my heart.  I want it to be a familiar place where He resides.  But I confess that I often close areas of my life off to Him that I don’t want for Him to see; sin that I don’t want to look at (much less confess), things that I want to keep under my control and thoughts that I want to keep to myself.  What I forget is this; when I close off bits and pieces of my life to Him, I ultimately slam the door in His face. 

 

The astonishing thing about my Savior is that all I need to do is open the door again and there He is, ready and waiting to make his home again in my heart. How amazing is that!  Sin has a way of pulling me away from my relationship with God but confession and surrender to His Holy Spirit immediately restores. 

 

If you’re wondering how Christ can become a “refrigerator friend” of yours look at what it says in the verse right before, “. . .  that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit.”

 

Through His Spirit and the limitless resources that He provides, we can experience intimacy with our Lord!  We simply need to open the door (we do this through confession and surrender) and He does the rest!