David
Robinson had made it to the big time. Fame, fortune, and success were
his. As a center for the San Antonio Spurs, Robinson was a member of
basketball's elite. He had represented the United States in the Olympics
in 1988, and then started his pro career by being named Rookie of the
Month every month for the entire 1989-1990 season--which made him the
unanimous choice for the Rookie of the Year. He played on the All Star
team and won the NBA Rebounding title. As one of the highest paid
players in the NBA, Robinson had everything money could buy--luxury
homes, classic automobiles--he was living a dream life.
But in his heart, David knew he didn't have everything. There was an emptiness deep inside. "I knew something was missing--I just didn't know what it was," he explains. "I kept thinking about how up and down my life was. It seemed like every time I did something, I had to do it again--or do something even better. We'd start a new season, and I'd have to re-prove myself over and over again. It was never enough."
A few years before, David had met an evangelist on an airplane, who talked to him about giving his heart to Jesus. "My mother was a Christian, and she always insisted that my brothers and sisters and I go to church. I grew up around it, I heard all the stories. I understood a little about what the Bible said, but I didn't really get the whole gist of it. I stopped going to church when I got older."
The evangelist explained to David how Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for man's sin.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).