1st Peter 1:3-4
PRAISE FOR A LIVING HOPE Born again believers do not have to live in defeat or despair because of the new birth has given us a vibrantly alive new life in Christ. Whether we are enjoying and experiencing that daily depends on our choices as to what we do and how we nurture the fellowship we have with our Lord. When the Holy Spirit gave us new life, eternal life, this guaranteed that Satan, sin and death could not have dominion over us. This new birth and "lively" (living) hope is not based on wishful thinking or our willpower that in the future we may get everlasting life. This is a secure assurance based on the fact that our Lord Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead and is alive forevermore.
Praise to "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" is certainly in order, when we think of the mercy He has extended to us that has given us every reason to choose joy in times of suffering. Far be it from us to neglect God when we receive such gifts from Him. We praise Him for His mercy that exceeds our sin and need. We praise Him for the new birth given to us when the Holy Spirit regenerated us who were dead in trespasses and sins. We praise Him for the resurrection of our Lord who guarantees us that we have been justified. "He was raised again for our justification." We praise Him for the assurance that because "He lives, we shall live also." We praise Him for the new life He has given us that enables us to pass through sufferings as conquerors because our God is with us in the trials.
This living hope began when we trusted Christ and became children of God. Our Father gives us the grace and strength to be faithful to Him in the trials we face and as we pass through all the difficulties of life here on earth. We not only have a living hope, but we have a permanent inheritance as heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ. We have been chosen by God and as obedient children who have been cleansed by the blood of Christ, this new birth gives us a vibrancy of life caused by the sure hope of the inheritance we will share with our Lord for ever.