The Parable of the Two FTP Clients

I was sitting at breakfast this morning when some things I have been thinking about came together. I thought of The Parable of the Two FTP Clients. I will explain what FTP Clients are for those who don't know, but this is kind of a Devotional for Techies (Tm) ;).

I use two FTP Clients for my work. Now FTP is File Transfer Protocol, basically a way to put files on web servers, and the client is a program I use to transfer files using that method. I have two of these programs: one called FTPVoyager; one called FileZilla. They are both good programs.

When someone transfers files using FTP there is something called a timeout. This means that after a certain time the connection will timeout and be dropped or closed. FTPVoyager has something nice that it will do. It will send a command called NOOP (NO OPeration). This command does nothing except return a response. However that response is very useful. It keeps the connection from dropping. FileZilla on the other hand doesn't do this and the connection can and does eventually drop.

Now, you may be saying "What in the world does this have to do with anything spiritual?" Here it is: When we become Christians Christ opens a connection with us: "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit:" John 15:5a what happens after that is largely up to us. So as we continue in our Christian walk we will eventually timeout and drop our connection to Christ unless we make sure to refresh our connection.

Now, how often should we refresh our connection? "Pray without ceasing" 1Th 5:17. I heard a story about a Godly old man who gave this counsel: "How often do eat? That many times a day study God's word. How often do you take a breath? That often pray." I must say the Lord has more for me in this area but it is critical that we keep that connection. That connection is how the Lord can work in us and through us to the blessing of ourselves and others.

Let me know if you like it (or don't get it ;))!

God Bless, even the techies!