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TRUST JESUS TODAY

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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Vote/Voted off the Island (05/29/14)
"Come on, Jake. You can do better than this." Tony, frustrated, couldn't take Jake's attitude any longer. "I need emotions. Stop acting, become the character. Come on, I didn't come out here to have scripts read at me." He barked.

"I didn't come here to play support," Jake muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Tony started to walk away to ease up. This whole 'drama' is really getting on him. Here he is on some island where he'd come with his crew of movie makers and actors to shoot a movie. First it was some technical hitches, now his support lead is adding to his pain.

"Actually, I did say something."

"Hmm," he absent-mindedly turned to answer Jake breaking his thoughts.

"I said, I didn't come out to this island to play number 2. I was to play the lead."

"Peter is doing good, Jake."

"I can do a lot better," he blurted.

"Jake," Tony gently called, "you are not even doing the support right. How do you plan to execute the lead role?"

"I can do this. Tony, this isn't my first time."

"You're handling it like it is. Besides, Peter looks the part. He is calm and gentle with words. I don't think anyone would play Jesus better."

"He's a novice. You replaced me with a novice!"

"Oh, I see what this is."
"Newbie Peter versus veteran Jake."
"I suggest we ask the others to hear what they think."

"Hey guys," Tony called out to the rest of the crew, "what do you say? Jake thinks he can play Jesus better."

"Peter is doing great."

"Jake can do it. He's acted before."

"Peter is new but, he is using that well, doing what he's told to do."

"I guess that's why it's easier to work with him."

"I still think Jake should take the lead, he might just take this thing to a whole new level."

"How about we cast a vote?" Shouted Tony.

Silence. Huh.

"To see who the majority thinks is a better fit."

Tsk.

Uh-oh.

Tightly squeezed papers dropped into a bottle. One after the other, the crew members cast their votes.

Who will it be?

"Jake, Peter, Peter...," Jane called out as she opened each paper. Finally, the count is done.

Peter takes the lead.

Ashamed and downcast, Jake walked away. He really wanted to play Jesus.
Tony went after him and found him wallowing in self-pity, feeling somewhat downplayed.

"You know, Jesus wouldn't clamor like this. He wouldn't want something so bad like this to degrade another."

"I guess I should play the devil henceforth."

Tony could hear the pain in his voice and with the look in his eyes, he absolutely felt dejected and unworthy.

"No, Jake," continued Tony, "that isn't what I meant, trust me. I know you can deliver the lead perfectly but in life, as in movies, we all need to play Jesus, embody Him and strive to deliver His Character everyday not just in movie sets."

"What are you saying then?"

"I'm saying that in other for us to play Jesus better, we must follow His principles."

"Here," handing him his pocket bible Tony said to him , "turn to John 13:1-17 and read it out."

Jake flipped to the passage and read. He felt broken but liberated. He realized he'd fallen but here was an opportunity to rise again.

"I see what you mean, Tony." All joyous and teary, he threw his arms round Tony in an embrace. "I can play Jesus even as the support lead."

"Sure you can!" Tony was thrilled.

The men held hands and prayed.

Back at the set, everyone was ready to continue with the movie.

Action.

Peter: Simon, son of Jonas, do you love Me more than these?
Jake: Yes; Lord; You know that I love You.
Peter: Feed My lambs.

Peter: Simon, son of Jonas, do you love Me?
Jake: Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.
Peter: Feed My sheep.

Peter: Simon, son of Jonas, do you love Me?
Jake: Lord, You know all things, You know that I love You.

Jake couldn't hold back the tears. He could hear Jesus in Peter's voice, asking if he loved Him. He felt valued, though he wasn't the lead, Jesus still wanted him to take care of something for Him. He got lost in awe, so did the others. Everyone had been drawn in.

Jake heard Jesus say to him, the third time, "feed My sheep."

[Skit is from John 21:15-17].
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This article has been read 731 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
C D Swanson 
06/05/14
Clever! I loved the segue into the biblical scriptures. I really thought this was a creative entry.
WEll done!

God bless~
Jenny Fulton 
06/05/14
I loved the expression in the dialogue and the point about how we are all called to "play Jesus".

On a technical note, in the paragraph that begins, "Tony started to walk away" consider putting each of the verbs that follow in past tense.
Phillip Cimei
06/06/14
How true in each of our lives. We all seem to want to play a different roll sometime or other. Living a life with Jesus being the main character in us will make us all stars. I enjoyed it. I look forward to reading more of your writings.
Toni Parker
06/06/14
Pretty cool. Love your story.
Joe Moreland
06/09/14
Very interesting approach to the topic. Having been on both sides of this equation (as an actor and a director), I can tell you that you nailed the issues of dealing with a disgruntled cast member perfectly. Except that I would never take a vote from the crew on an issue of casting. A whole new can of worms gets opened with that decision.

There were some language issues (some tenses got switched mid-sentence and some words that were incorrect), but the overall writing was good and the dialogue was excellent. Best of all you captured a unique personality for each of your characters.

Good work!
Robert Douglas Brown
06/11/14
An interesting article. I enjoyed it. I did find it to be a bit confusing at times to follow. Overall, a quałiity article.

God Bless!
C D Swanson 
06/13/14
Congratulations!

God bless~