Following Jesus takes means experiencing the love of God. Peter came to know that his discipleship journey meant that he was beloved in Christ. “Beloved” is one of our most precious and important Christian words. Three times in his final paragraph, Peter refers to those who follow Jesus as “beloved.” In Jesus Christ, we know God’ love. We are the recipients of God’s love. We can confidently expect to be received by God’s love at the end of our discipleship journey. This is Peter’s final word to us.