We are already there... by Mr_Friendly

While watching The Package, something happened, and it gave me chills. Jack and Sun sit on a beach talking, and during this conversation something emerged. Jack isn't in the running to become the next Jacob, he is already there. The way he always was able to lead people made him a prime suspect, and the way he never forced people into a decision, but instead relied heavily in their own trust in him to come to that decision is exactly the same qualities that made Jacob the leader he was. He leads by example; you want to be better because he is better, you want to do good because he does good.

Jacob, through Hurley, took Jack to the Lighthouse so he could see what he saw. As Jacob said, he needed to see how important he was, and perhaps sitting staring at the ocean was enough to get him to realize. In The Package, when he sits talking with Sun, he is also staring at the sea while discussing with her. Whenever we saw Jacob talking with Man in Black, it too, was facing the sea. Surely this isn't coincidence, is it? TPTB are far too deliberate to just happen.

During the conversation, his mannerisms, and even the deliberate shot of him reaching out and them touching hands, all, to me, made me feel that Jack was already Jacob. He might not understand what it means, or what he can do yet, but the moment Jacob died, Jack took over, as he was on the Island, and the Island needs a protector.