In 1997, Iowa State University named its football stadium after the school’s first black athlete: Jack Trice. Tragically, Trice never even played in Ames, Iowa—he died from internal injuries sustained during a play in his second college game, played in Minneapolis, Minnesota on October 6, 1923. Trice wrote a note to himself the night before, bearing witness to his determination:

“The honor of my race, family, and self are at stake. Everyone is expecting me to do big things. I will! My whole body and soul are to be thrown recklessly about on the field tomorrow. Every time the ball is snapped, I will be trying to do more than my part.” Trice profoundly understood that what he did flowed from the honor and dignity of who he was, infusing his character with courage. 

The apostle Paul says something similar in Ephesians, challenging believers to let who they were in Christ influence every decision: “As a prisoner of the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received” (Ephesians 4:1). Paul challenges us to embrace a way of living shaped by Jesus’ work for us, in us, and through us, which yields humility, gentleness, patience, unity, love and peace (vv. 2-3) as we use our God-given gifts to serve one another (vv. 15-16).