Jesus said to Martha, “Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”   John 11:25-26

To me, the raising of Lazarus is one of the most amazing of all the miracles Jesus performed. But there’s a deeper insight in this story than the astonishing fact that he brought a dead man back to life. In our reading for today, Jesus says, “Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” Then he asks Martha the ultimate question, “Do you believe this?” The question may have been directed to Martha, but it is also a question that Jesus asks each of us: “Do you believe?”

Though Jesus rescued his friend Lazarus once from physical death, ultimately Lazarus did die, as everyone does. But God rescues us from spiritual death, shows us the path to eternal life, and ends the separation between us.  If we come to believe in Jesus Christ as the son of God, the resurrection and the life, then life triumphs over death. It sounds almost too easy, too good to be true: Believe in Jesus, and have eternal life. But because of his death and resurrection, we can wrestle with Jesus’ question to Martha and can come to believe. 

Dear God, thank you for Jesus, who gave himself on the cross for us. Help us to extend your love to those who do not yet believe. Amen.