After Martha expressed her belief in Jesus, Mary arrived and again poured her misery to him. Jesus asked to be brought to Lazarus. They took him to the tomb. Jesus told them to open the tomb. The people were probably wondering what Jesus would do. They argued with him and said that it would smell already. But Jesus insisted – pointing again to faith. Finally, they did what he said.

The word ‘believe’ is very often repeated in John's gospel. John always associates belief in Jesus with life. Believing is our response to the challenge of Jesus. It is saying Yes even if we do not understand – not for the sake of saying it – but because we know that the person demanding it can be trusted.

So when we say yes to Jesus, we say it because we can trust him. We say yes because he will not change his mind – he is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. We say yes because we know that he is the Truth and by obeying him – we get to possess Life.

In our faith life, Jesus will often challenge us to do things beyond our capabilities. These are often instances when he teaches us that things happen not because of our skills or capabilities – but things happen because we trusted in him.

Obedience therefore, is the key that unlocks this life in Jesus. Lazarus himself obeyed Jesus. Notice that when Jesus raised Lazarus, he commanded Lazarus. He did not say, 'be alive again'. But he said, 'Lazarus – come out'. It was a command and Lazarus, even if he was dead – obeyed Jesus. Very often, in hopeless and helpless situations, we will hear the voice of Jesus, calling out to us.

Like Lazarus, we need to obey Jesus. Obedience is also the proof of our commitment to the Lord. James said that 'faith without action is dead.' So obedience to the challenge of Jesus is what makes our faith live. Without obeying Jesus, our faith is dead.