“How can a man be born again when he is old?  Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb?”

Nicodemus’ way of putting the question sounds childish; but it’s a common question.  My life is a mess, and what’s done cannot be undone.  Then along comes Jesus mocking me with talk of a fresh start, incredible promises of being “born again.”  Whatever.  Can a man enter again into his mother’s womb?

Jesus says we not only can but must be born again, and Peter adds that we are begotten “to a living hope.”  For Peter, as for the rest of Scripture, hope is light and life; when we are hopeless, we’re walking in the gloom of death.

That’s because God Himself is our hope: “You are my hope, O Lord God,” David writes, “You are my confidence from my youth.”  When the living Hope withdraws, His people die; when Yahweh the Hope of Israel returns, they are born again.

Hope in our unseen Lord, and hope for the inheritance He promises, fills us with life, with joy inexpressible and full of glory.  When God gives us this hope, He begets us again through the resurrection of Jesus.