Influenced by devout Christian parents, track star Jesse Owens lived as a courageous man of faith. During the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Owens, one of the few African-Americans on the US team, received four gold medals in the presence of hate-filled Nazis and their leader, Hitler. He also befriended fellow athlete Luz Long, a German. Surrounded by Nazi propaganda, Owens’ simple act of living out his faith impacted Luz’s life. Later, in a letter to Owens, Luz Long wrote: “That hour in Berlin when I first spoke to you, when you had your knee upon the ground, I knew you were in prayer . . . I think I might believe in God.”
While in Berlin, Owens demonstrated how believers can answer the apostle Paul’s charge to “hate what is evil” and be “devoted to one another in love” (Romans 12:9–10). Though he could have responded to the evil around him by hating others, Owens chose to live by faith and show love to a man who would later become his friend and eventually consider belief in God.
As God’s people commit to being “faithful in prayer” (v. 12), He empowers us to “live in harmony with one another” (v. 16).
Dependent on prayer, we can commit to living out our faith and learn how to love all who are made in God’s image. As we cry out to God, He’ll help us break down barriers and build bridges of peace with our neighbors.