A True Hero

Description

Two Olympic swimmers (David & Jon) bond like brothers before David goes on to slay the American 'goliath' at the Olympics and bring back Britain's only swimming gold. He is a hero to everyone but Jon's father (Saul) who is head of the swim team, a past silver medalist and jealous of David's new status. Saul turns on David throwing him off the team and lying about him to the press to corrupt everyone's view. Shortly after Jon warns David his father will get worse not better, there is a tragic car accident killing both Saul and Jon King and leaving Jon's young son, Seth, devastatingly injured. Nursing staff and social workers despair of Seth's future. Distant relatives don't want to know but then David hears of what happened and chooses to adopt the boy himself. Back in favour with the public and back at the Olympics David becomes a national hero again but what matters most is his role with Seth who takes up Boccia so can be a (Para)lympian too, like daddy and David. It ends with the Paralympics in the background and Seth performing Boccia for an audience of one – his new father.

Biblical Connection

Our story is a modern day re-telling of extracts of the stories of David and Jonathan, Saul and Mephibosheth (we only had to change the name of Mephibosheth to Seth) as found in 1 Samuel 17 - 2 Samuel 9 with an emphasis on the choice David made to have Mephibosheth sit at the King's table for the rest of his life in response to his love for the now deceased Jonathan. David, King of Israel, took in a disabled boy/man and gave him an inheritance as well as food. Most in Mephibosheth's situation would have been left begging on the streets but he is eating at the King's table. Lameness in both feet is no longer the disadvantage in life (in the Western world at least) that it used to be so our character Seth is left very severely disabled to mimic the level of dependence. We also get to explore adoption (Eph 1:5, Gal 4:5, Rom 8:15 etc.) and disability including that we are all 'disabled' by sin and accepted by God for adoption as we are and we do this within the modern references of sports and the Olympics & Paralympics.