Michael Chang: Giant Killer

By Brian Connor

CBN.com - Not far from the bright lights and big money of the Las Vegas strip, we caught up with a quiet and unassuming superstar of tennis. While the location and the subject might seem an odd contrast to most people, contrast is something Michael Chang has gotten used to. Just 5-feet, 9-inches tall, he's a modern-day David in a tennis world filled with Goliaths.

"I don't play too many guys my height or even a little bit smaller," Michael explains. "You just don't see it these days. I mean, the average height of the top 100 players on tour is like 6'2"."

But being almost a half-foot shorter than most of his opponents hasn't stopped Michael from becoming one of the sport's top competitors. His best year as a professional was 1997, when he spent most of the year ranked #2 in the world. But it was eight years earlier, 1989, when Michael exploded onto the tennis scene. He came from out of nowhere to shock the sports world...winning the French Open tennis title at the age of 17. You would think winning a grand slam tennis title would be the highlight of Michael's life. But something else happened months before his French Open victory that he says is much more important. Searching for answers to life's mounting questions, Michael started reading a book his grandparents gave him. That book was the Bible.

"When I first came to know the Lord was when I was a teenager. You do a lot of searching. You start asking a lot of questions. You say, 'Why am I here on this earth? For what purpose am I here on this earth? Why do people seek after all these other things, like money and fame and stuff like that?' You're born into this world with nothing. You don't take any of that with you when you die. You think, 'Surely there must be something more to it.' When you look at it that way, the answer is the Lord. That's the reason why He came, and gave us His Word, and showed us how to go about living life, and (how) to live life to the fullest."

Michael's decision to make Jesus Christ his personal Lord and Saviour is not one he takes lightly.

"A lot of people talk to me about what makes Christianity different. First of all, it's a personal relationship with the Lord. People say that Christianity falls under the quote, unquote religions in a sense. But I don't look at it that way because it really is a personal relationship just like you would have with anybody else."

Michael says his faith in God is what makes all the difference in his life and his career -- a career that has earned him millions of dollars and dozens of championship titles.

"I realize that God is in control of everything. That is something when I have my mind set on the right things, that really is my strength. I think it's always important for me to know my priorities, know where my strength is. For me it's in my relationship with the Lord."

Michael realizes there's much more to life than hitting a little yellow ball back and forth. He knows life's true prize comes from God the Father. It's a gift anyone can receive.

"I feel like in my position, my calling is to be able to touch people's lives in a Christ-like way. Because to me, if I go and I hit a good forehand, or a good backhand, or play a good match, people are going to remember it for a short period of time. But if I go and impact their lives in a Christ-like way, it's going to be with them not only through their lifetime, but (also) after that."

"With society now, everything is focused upon so many other things that really don't satisfy in life. And I think I'm in a position to tell people that you can go and seek after fame, you can go and you can seek after money. But from experience, I can tell you that these things don't really satisfy. And the only thing that really satisfies is a relationship with the Lord."

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