Passing Through

[1 Pet. 2:11] Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
[12] Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify G-d in the day of visitation.
Strangers means, properly, one dwelling near, neighboring; then a by-dweller, a sojourner, one without the rights of citizenship, as distinguished from a citizen; and it means here that Believers are not properly citizens of this world, but that their citizenship is in heaven, and that they are here mere sojourners.
Pilgrims is one who travels to a distance from his own country to visit a holy place, or to pay his devotion to some holy object; then a traveler, a wanderer. The meaning here is, that Believers have no permanent home on earth; their citizenship is not here; they are mere sojourners, and they are passing on to their eternal home in the heavens. They should, therefore, act as become such persons as sojourners and travelers do.
Even while engaged here in the necessary callings of life--their studies, their farming, and their merchandize--their thoughts and affections should be on other things. One in a strange land thinks much of his country and home; a pilgrim, much of the land to which he goes; and even while his time and attention may be necessarily occupied by the arrangements needful for the journey, his thoughts and affections will be far away.
We should not burden ourselves with much of this world's goods. Many professed Believers get so many worldly things around them, that it is impossible for them to make a journey to heaven. They burden themselves as no traveler would, and they make no progress. A traveler takes along as few things as possible; and a staff is often all that a pilgrim has. We make the most rapid progress in our journey to our final home when we are least encumbered with the things of this world.
To be a Believer means to fight against the lusts of the flesh, and the battle continues as long as we live in this flesh. It is easy for us to see how the pursuit of fleshly lusts can destroy our body physically. Just ask the alcoholic dying of liver disease, or ask the sexually immoral person with AIDS or one of the 350,000 people on this earth who contracted a sexually transmitted disease. Disease and death of the inner man is a penalty that no one given over to the flesh escapes.
The meaning is that indulgence in these things makes war against the nobler faculties of the soul against the conscience, the understanding, the memory, the judgment, the exercise of a pure imagination. There is not a faculty of the mind, however brilliant in itself, which will not be ultimately ruined by indulgence in the carnal propensities of our nature.
A good walk does not make us pious, but we must first be pious and believe before we attempt to lead a good course. Faith first receives from God, and then love gives to our neighbor.
The heathen by whom you are surrounded, and who will certainly observe your conduct. This kind of godly living makes our conduct honorable among those who don't know G-d yet. Though we can expect that they will speak against you as evildoers, they can still be brought to glorify G-d by seeing our godly conduct.
Gentiles shall behold in Greek means, "they shall be eye-witnesses of"; "shall behold on close inspection"; as opposed to their "ignorance" of the true character of Believers, by judging on mere hearsay."
Glorify is forming a high estimate of the G-d whom Believers worship, from the exemplary conduct of Believers themselves. We must do well, not with a view to our own glory, but to the glory of G-d.
The day of visitation in G-d's grace; when G-d shall visit them in mercy.
So what did we learn while passing through this land?
1. Purify your souls:
(a) As strangers on earth who must not allow yourselves to be kept back by earthly lusts,
(b) Because these lusts war against the soul's salvation.
2. Walk piously among unbelievers:
(a) So that they may cease to calumniate Believers,
(b) May themselves be converted to Messiah.
(c) Remember we are only passing through.
Is not the pure and holy walk of Believers an occasion of His bending His footsteps down to earth to bless dying sinners, and to scatter spiritual blessings with a liberal hand?