You are “Beloved!” But beloved by who? By Peter, of course (1 Peter 2:12) (1 Peter 4:12). By Paul, James, John, & Jude, all of whom used this same term of endearment. But most of all, we are beloved of God and Jesus! – (Romans 1:7) (Colossians 3:12). It is out of such human and divine love that this plea is made.
You are “Sojourners and Pilgrims,” in that you have not yet reached your heavenly home. As we will see later, failure to heed the plea will mean you will never reach it! In view of that real possibility, we find this plea made even in form of “begging!”
You are a soldier engaged in Warfare! A war in which “fleshly lusts” wage war against the “soul.” Don’t stop fighting
You are being observed by some of who often speak evil of you (even as they did of Christ), but it is possible to cause those very ones who speak evil of you to glorify God in “the day of visitation.