Have you ever heard of this term? Refrigerator friends? I heard it recently and can't stop thinking about its significance. A refrigerator friend is one who will come into your house and open up your refrigerator, looking for something to eat, without thinking twice about it.
I got home a couple of hours ago from spending the day at a friend's house. This is a friend that I spend a lot of time with and see almost everyday, and yet the act of spending almost 6 hours at her house on a Sunday afternoon seems the most natural thing in the world. She is a refrigerator friend, for sure.
This idea of a refrigerator friend is one that is becoming attractive to so many people, because of the increasing isolation in our culture. As a single person who lives alone, I have to make a point to schedule time with other people in order avoid being isolated. If we go to someone else's home, someone who we're not particularly close with, we might sneek a peek in their bedroom; we'll probably snoop around in their medicine cabinet; and we might even steal a glance into their "junk room" or "junk drawer." But, only with close family and friends will we look in their refrigerators.
The people who easily become refrigerator friends are people who have the gift of hospitality. Lots of people have you over to their home and treat you so kindly that you are constantly aware that you are a guest in their home. Their home is clean. The meal is prepared with great care. The host takes makes sure that you enjoy yourself. You have a good time.
As a pastor, I've gotten to visit a lot of people in their homes. I understand that often times people may treat me differently if they think of me as "their pastor." And all these meals and visits have been wonderful. But, I've started to think that those who have the true gift of hospitality are less concerned with the house being clean or the meal being perfect and are more concerned with being with their guest.
People with the best gift of hospitaltity are more like refrigerator friends. Hospitality means making you feel like you are at home. In your own home, you speak your mind and ask for the things you want to eat and drink and do. In a place of hospitality, you are free to be yourself.
Today I am thankful for a refrigerator friend who shows me un-ending hospitality. Because of her hospitality, I am able to spend 6 hours at her house without realizing it. How would are lives change if we took a little more effort to be refrigerator friends? It means that we might have to learn the art of hospitality. We might worry less about the cleanliness of our house and a little more about the person coming over for dinner.
