Tennis Anyone?

As the U.S. Open Tennis Championship moves towards the finals this weekend, I am reminded of a former U.S. Open finalist named Michel Chang. In 1996, Chang was facing Pete Sampras in a rare all-American Open final. Though Chang lost in straight sets, he used the opportunity to do something he did throughout his professional career, point people to Christ.

Over his professional career Michael Chang won 37 tournaments, earning over $19 million and reaching the #2 ranking in the world. His rise to being a top ranked world player started with a huge win in Paris in 1989. Seventeen year old Michael Chang shocked the tennis world by defeating the top rated seeds to win the French Open. He became the youngest man ever to win a Grand Slam event. World Tennis magazine described his performance in Paris as "tennis’s purest example of intelligence."

But Chang had another explanation, one that stayed consistent through the years since he gave his life to Jesus Christ: "I wasn’t playing out there. Jesus Christ is alive and well!" Chang believes his continued success is testimony to something-or Someone-else entirely.

"People sometimes ask me, 'Don't you wish you were bigger?' There’s a reason God made me 5-foot-9 in a world where the average height of players is 6-foot-2. If I’m able to go out and win a tournament, it’s really to God’s glory. It obviously has nothing to do with my height or anything else." "I felt God used me to show the world that you don’t always have to be bigger or stronger to come out on top. When the Lord is with you and wants you to be victorious, you will be."

When discussing his incredible achievements in the world of professional tennis, Chang has said, “Success for me is using my talents in the way that God wants me to use them. When you touch people in a Christ-like way, it lasts a lifetime. That’s the way success should be defined." What a great reminder that true success will ultimately be measured by what you take with you into eternity. Only two things last forever, the Word of God and the souls of people. The time and energy you commit to influencing people for Christ is an eternal investment. True success will be defined by who is in heaven because you took the time to tell them about Christ.

Proverbs 11:30 reminds us, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.” Let’s follow Michael Chang’s example and start touching people around us in a Christ-like way.

Shoulder to Shoulder,

Gregg