In My Image

Will has had it with rules, and when he grumbles that he'd like to trade God for a new one, a traveling showman named Randolph Fox happens to have replacement gods for sale. Will's first purchase, a smiling doll called Affirmus who tells him to follow his heart, lands him in trouble at school, in Miss Helga's candy shop, and everywhere in between. So Will runs away and trades up to Otto, a pushy little god who fuels his rise as a piano prodigy... and slowly takes over his life. Otto cuts Will off from his parents, sulks when he's crossed, and starts to look strangely like Will himself. When Will finally demands his life back, the doll grows to full size, wearing Will's own face and stealing his voice - and Will wakes in the forest, where Fox has been telling him the whole story for the past hour. Shaken and grateful, Will heads home with a willing heart, done with trading away the God who made him.

Found on The Truth Chronicles Album 50½ · 11 episodes

The run See every episode

1 of 2 0641 The Imagination Station, Revisited A curious kid sneaks an early ride in Whit's rebuilt Imagination Station and lands in Jerusalem during Jesus' final week, where a blind boy's hope draws her into events far bigger than she expected.

2 of 2 0642 The Imagination Station, Revisited A trip through an unfinished Imagination Station drops Kelly into the final days of Jesus' life, where she can only watch as betrayal and injustice unfold around her.

TTC01 Here Am I When Whit's newest invention drops Connie into a series of surreal scenarios, she must defend the idea of absolute truth against game-show pundits, talk-show guests, and a very persuasive adversary.

TTC02 The Truth Be Told When a new newspaper editor asks a young reporter to dig up dirt on Whit's End, her investigation unfolds alongside a homespun superhero tale about a librarian transformed into a champion of absolute truth.

TTC03 The Science Club When a young science club president is assigned a presentation on Darwin, a curious question from Whit turns his topic into a test of whether the club really follows the truth wherever it leads.

TTC04 Three in One When a new cable access channel comes to Odyssey, Connie steps up to be a voice for what kids really need - while everyone around her keeps stumbling onto the same big idea.

TTC05 In My Image Fed up with rules, a village boy declares he's done with God - and a mysterious traveling showman just happens to sell replacements.

1 of 3 0643 Kidsboro When Career Day leaves them disillusioned with adult jobs, a group of Odyssey kids get the chance to build and govern a town of their very own - and quickly learn that running a society is harder than it looks.

2 of 3 0644 Kidsboro When a citizen sues Kidsboro's young government over a ruined shirt, Mayor Ryan must untangle a financial crisis and a string of mysterious stink attacks that may be coming from closer to home than anyone suspects.

3 of 3 0645 Kidsboro With Kidsboro's trust crumbling and a mysterious crime wave gripping the town, Mayor Ryan must decide whether protecting his young government is worth the secret it's built on.

1 of 2 TTC06 Stepping Stones A study session at Whit's End turns into an imagination-powered voyage back to 1620, where a band of persecuted believers risks everything for a new life across the ocean.

2 of 2 TTC07 Stepping Stones With winter closing in and no home yet found, the Mayflower pilgrims must brave freezing expeditions, sickness, and the fear of attack in search of a place to plant their new colony.

TTC08 The Final Call When Whit tells the story of Jonah on Kids Radio, Connie and the young listeners of Odyssey discover that a biblical worldview is about far more than obedience.

Featured characters

John Whittaker Paul Herlinger

Minor characters & crew 10 more roles

10 supporting roles

Sir William Adam Wylie Affirmus Roger Rose Grimsby Marcus Toji Otto Roger Rose Will's Father Pete Reneday Arthur Fieldstone Joey D'Auria Randolph Fox Pete Reneday Miss Helga Beth Wernick The King Joey D'Auria Will's Mother Beth Wernick

Made by

Chris Anthony Host Paul McCusker Writer · Director GAP Digital Sound Designer · Producer Bob Hoose Producer Marshal Younger Producer Dave Arnold Executive Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 3 min

Will is a boy in a small village who has grown tired of being told what to do. Convinced that God is behind all the rules his parents and teachers make him follow, he announces that he is finished with God and wishes he could trade him for another one. His best friend Grimsby is shocked, but their conversation is overheard by a stranger gathering firewood at the edge of the woods: Randolph Fox, a traveling showman whose brightly painted wagon promises entertainments and "diversions of a wondrous nature." Cautious Grimsby heads home, but curious Will follows Mr. Fox into the clearing, where the man reveals that he happens to be a provider of replacement gods.

After Will rejects a fortune-telling doll called Alexander the Answer God for giving answers he doesn't like, Mr. Fox produces Affirmus, a smiling little god who loves everything about Will and demands nothing from him. Will pays for the doll by polishing Fox's boots and washing his horse, then discovers that Affirmus speaks only to him. Whenever Will asks what he should do, Affirmus answers with the same question: what does his heart tell him? Following his heart, Will skips studying for his history exam, misbehaves at school, sneaks off the school grounds for chocolates, and slips into Miss Helga's closed candy shop, where Affirmus assures him that the only wrong thing is denying himself happiness. When Miss Helga catches him with her cookies and marches him toward the school, Will's heart tells him to run.

Now in trouble everywhere, Will runs away from home and catches up with Mr. Fox's wagon on the road. Since Affirmus can't keep him out of trouble, Fox offers a costlier god: Otto, whose name means fuel, a god who will push Will toward the things he wants. Will pays his way with his one real talent, the piano, and Fox begins billing him from town to town as the Great Prodigy. When stage fright nearly ruins Will's first performance, Otto tells him, "Look only at me. Play for me, Will," and Will's confidence soars. So does his fame, along with Otto's control. The little god talks Will out of contacting his worried parents, teaches him to distrust Mr. Fox, and feeds him demands to make: a room of his own, threats not to play, orders that put Will in charge of the show. Strangely, the doll seems to look more and more like Will himself.

A wealthy financier named Arthur Fieldstone whisks Will off to the Capitol to play the famous King's Hall, while a spurned Mr. Fox finally writes the letter to Will's parents he had promised long before. Fame proves exhausting: three and four performances a day, endless parties, and no real friends. When Will starts remembering what his parents taught him about things that last, Otto sulks until Will apologizes. Then Mr. Fox appears at Will's dressing room with a surprise: his parents. Their joyful reunion turns uneasy when they learn their gifted son has no time for church, and Fox announces that Will has traded their God for the doll in his hands.

The King himself offers Will a royal charter, an honor never given before, but Will asks to consult his parents first, infuriating both Fieldstone and Otto. In the coach afterward, Will finally stands up to his god, insisting it's his life and his decisions. Otto's reply is chilling: "You created me to be your God, which makes me your superior." The doll grows to Will's own size, wearing Will's own face, while Will's voice fails so that only Otto can hear him. As Will screams that he was wrong, he suddenly comes to in the forest outside his own village, where Randolph Fox is shaking him awake. The whole adventure was a story Fox has been telling him for the past hour, so vivid it seemed real.

A shaken and grateful Will admits he made a mistake in wanting to replace God, and Fox offers him a ride home, remarking that his stubborn old horse, named Otto, will pull you any which way unless you keep a tight rein on him. Will goes home with a willing heart, having learned the lesson at the center of the tale: when we create gods to serve our purposes, we wind up serving those gods, and true happiness comes only from the true God who made us and loves us.