A LIVELY HOPE

A lively hope is more than just, "I hope I can make it."

(By the way, I love this picture!)

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

which according to his abundant mercy

hath begotten us again unto a lively hope

by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."

I Peter 1:3, KJV

Sitting around while fighting bronchitis, "lively" doesn't describe me.  But I hope to get well.  That could be called a lively hope.  But we have reason to grasp an even livelier hope, one perhaps that we are so used to having claimed that we have now become complacent instead of lively.

Adam Clarke translates the beginning of verse three as, "Let that God have praise who is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and who deserves the praise of ever human being for His mercy to the world, in its redemption by Christ Jesus."

This verse is followed by "His abundant mercy hath begotten us."  What does all mankind have in common?  Death.  What do Christians have in common?  Hope.  Hope because of God's abundant mercy.  We become His children by being born again, thus begotten unto a lively hope.  A lively hope is one that cannot be suppressed, almost like a hope that jumps up and down, makes your heart do somersaults.  Jesus Himself could not be suppressed by death, but rose again bringing hope. 

The confused disciples had hung their hopes on Jesus as the Messiah who would redeem Israel.  But He died.  Their hope died.  But wonder of wonders, His resurrection gave them back their hope in a spectacular way: if He could overcome death, they could believe His promise that they too would have eternal life.  But what raises that hope in us is that we are begotten of the Father.  Think of the newborn babe that must cry, become lively to survive.

It's a dark and dangerous world for babies

right now in our wicked world.  We need

to remember that we too have an enemy of

our soul who seeks to kill and destroy us.

Adam Clarke goes on to say, "none can inherit eternal life except those who are children in the heavenly family, and none are children but those who are born again...spiritually begotten." 

Perhaps we should resuscitate our hope until it is lively again.  These verses are a good spanking reminder. God's the Father.  We are His begotten.  We have His mercy and a lively hope.