Life is full of challenges and beauty, but we can’t always see the beauty. As a young boy in China, Ming’s parents taught him that he could go anywhere and do anything if he could master mathematics, physics and chemistry. So, he revolved his life around education. But, all that came to a screeching halt in 1966 when the Chinese Cultural Revolution began. The communist government closed down all universities in China and forced young people into poverty and hard labor.
Ming and his family did everything they could to keep him from being deported, and in 1976, the Cultural Revolution ended and the Chinese authorities realized how much of a travesty this was on their society. Every student who was able, competed for a few spots at the reopened universities. At the age of 21, Ming’s family and friends had pulled together enough money for a one-way ticket to America. With $50 in his pocket, Ming started a life of freedom. Ming attended Harvard School of Medicine and graduated magna cum laude then later received his PhD in Laser Physics from MIT.
How Ming Found God
Growing up, Ming believed in education. Ming would say, education was his God. But, while studying at one of the most prestigious universities in America, he started to question why science didn’t always equate. He explains, “The human eye is so complicated. The number of neuron cells in one person’s head for vision…, is greater than the number of stars that we have ever discovered in the entire universe. If, as an atheist believes, things are created through random collisions, it would have taken trillions-of-trillions of years for a structure such as a human eye to form. Much longer than the thirteen-billion years the universe has supposedly existed.” A professor opened his eyes to the reality of God by comparing a human brain to a car. He discussed how pieces of metal can’t just randomly form to create a car, nor can the pieces necessary to craft the intricacies of humans. The reason the human eye can be formed in such a short period of time is that it’s not formed at random, it’s formed with a specific purpose – to see! There’s a designer for that. Andrew Hyatt, writer and director of the movie Sight, states, “We all really do have a purpose in us that is meant to better the world to make it a more beautiful, joyful place.”
Ming soon became a world-renowned laser eye surgeon who holds two US patents. He established a foundation that pulls together doctors who donate their services to offer incredible medical advancements to people who do not have the financial means to have certain procedures performed. The Wang Vision Institute has helped patiences from over 40 states in the US and 55 countries worldwide.
As the movie Sight portrays, at the peak of his career, Dr. Wang’s non-profit receives a call from a nun who wants to bring in a nearly blind orphan girl from India. She was confined to a life as a beggar on the streets. Her step-mother made her blind so the girl could make more money. When he hears this girl’s story, Dr. Ming Wang is reminded of his past. Against all odds, he wrestles to heal her and revive her sight. Now, Dr. Wang has performed over 55,000 procedures, over 4,000 of those procedures were on other doctors.
The Sight Movie Film
Certain stories have a way of instilling hope, strength and perseverance. Dr. Ming Wang’s story inspired the movie Sight, which was based on Wang’s autobiography “From Darkness to Sight.” Stories are a universal language that unites and inspires people of all languages, nationalities, cultures, etc. “I am overwhelmed that a movie is being made about my life. Living through the many dramatic events that I experienced, I never expected them to be told to the world, especially in such a poignant way. I hope this movie might pave the way to inspire more untold stories to be heard and to inspire others to persevere and follow their dreams,” said Dr. Ming Wang.
Jesus calls us to be His hands and feet. As Dr. Ming Wang brings sight to the blind, he is acting on behalf of God. He doesn’t heal the blind to receive accolades, he does it so the creator of the Universe can receive praise. Matthew 15:30-31 says, “Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.”
Dr. Ming Wang challenges us not to take advantage of the tremendous gifts we have – sight, freedom, faith. Rather, his story reminds us that beauty exists all around, even beauty that we can’t see.
Sight is releases May 24. Check out the Angel Studio TV series The Chosen, or the film Sound of Freedom.
