Praying to your Father,
with your closest friends present,
you spoke,
a gentle truth that pierces the heart:
we are not of this world,
though we dwell within its embrace.

Chosen from shadows,
lifted from earth’s dust,
our souls bear the mark
of a kingdom unseen,
yet faith reveals,
a realm where love reigns eternal.

The world, with its fleeting glories,
its praises and scorn,
cannot comprehend the light
that dances within us,
a light not born of sun or moon,
but of a love that transcends all.

We walk these crowded streets,
our hearts beating with a rhythm
not bound by time or place,
carrying within us
a peace the world cannot give,
a joy untouched by sorrow.

In the stillness of the night,
under the canopy of stars,
we remember your prayer,
a plea for our protection
from the shadows that linger,
from the tempests that rage.

Salt of the earth, light of the world,
you called us to be,
a beacon in the darkness,
a refuge in the storm,
to live in this world, yet not of it,
to love fiercely, deeply,
with a love not our own.

And so we pray you walk with us,
pilgrims on this sacred journey,
bearing the weight of glory,
the promise of a kingdom come,
in the world, but not of it,
until the day comes when with you
we ascend, fully yours.

-based on John 17:14