Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy became our father again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope: Peter gives us a view into God’s merciful heart, a view that impels us to serve him. By God’s "abundant mercy, (He) hath begotten us again." "Hath begotten us again" is clearly defined as "To produce again, begat again, begat anew; metaph. thoroughly to change the mind of one, so that he lives a new life and one conformed to the will of God" (Thayer 36-1-313). "Being born again" is a concept Jesus introduces to us in his conversation with Nicodemus (John 3). Our birth is not into a world of despair but, rather, unto a "lively hope." When we are born again, we then possess a hope--not simply a hope but a lively hope.