A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.John 13:34-35

This powerful statement made by the Lord at the last supper was made after the betrayer had been dismissed! Did you ever realise that? The circumstance does raise a question whether the practice of love to another is only feasible in the absence of betrayal. Looking at the events in the beginning of the church as recorded in the Acts of Apostle, Acts. 4:33-Acts 5:4 (TPT)—

The apostles gave powerful testimonies about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great measures of grace rested upon them all. Some who owned houses or land sold them and brought the proceeds before the apostles to distribute to those without. Not a single person among them was needy. For example, there was a Levite from Cyprus named Joseph, who sold his farmland and placed the proceeds at the feet of the apostles. They nicknamed him Barnabas (or “Encourager”).  
 
Now, a man named Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, likewise sold their farm. They conspired to secretly keep back for themselves a portion of the proceeds. So, when Ananias brought the money to the apostles, it was only a portion of the entire sale. God revealed their secret to Peter, so he said to him, “Ananias, why did you let Satan fill your heart and make you think you could lie to the Holy Spirit? You only pretended to give it all, yet you hid back part of the proceeds from the sale of your property to keep for yourselves. Before you sold it, wasn’t it yours to sell or to keep? And after you sold it, wasn’t the money entirely at your disposal? How could you plot such a thing in your heart? You haven’t lied to people; you’ve lied to God!”

Believers are typically drawn to the great power with which the apostles testified of the resurrection of the Lord and the great grace that attended to them, but less mindful of the third element that made their witness complete, the care for the poor! Yes, our top priority must be winning people to Christ and bringing them to spiritual maturity but if we are to follow the footsteps of the New Testament church, we must take care of each other; yet there is a starting point!

From our text, Judas the betrayer had been sent on his way, and as clearly demonstrated by the acts of Ananias and Saphira, we must rid ourselves of the deliberate deception or lies and pretense that unfortunately seem characteristic of believers when it comes to the matter of helps! It’s a sin that we easily slip into, which we need to repent of if we are to get the blessing attendant to obedience of this instruction instead of death! Selah.

Pastor Afolabi Oladele