With his album Keep Breathing, Jody McBrayer, co-founder and former member of the award-winning group Avalon, has set out on the next chapter of his music career. Jody McBrayer has released a moving new music video for "This is a Son," the first single off his StowTown Records debut. With his signature vocals, McBrayer brings an album that crosses musical genres with lyrics that are relatable to all types of listeners. I had the chance to speak with Jody about "This is a Son."

Please tell me the personal story behind this song.

We were finished recording this album for the most part. We had twelve songs and were in the studio tracking vocals, and my producer Wayne Haun said he had been to a songwriter's retreat and they were writing the song "This is a Son." He suggested I would want to record it. Wayne knew that my wife and I were involved in a homeless ministry called The Bridge. 

In the back of my mind I thought the song would be okay, and maybe I wouldn't love it as much as Wayne did. A week later I heard the song, and by the end of the first chorus, I was in tears. I immediately thought of the faces of those men and women I see every Tuesday at The Bridge. 

We conduct a church service, and sometimes I lead worship, and we give food. People and businesses donate to the ministry. Every Tuesday night homeless men and women get a hot meal, a box of food and Designer Coats in the winter. I see their faces in connection with this song. This song ended up on the album, and we dropped one of the other songs. 

It became personal to me because of how all of us feel like outcasts sometimes because of choices or decisions we have made in our lives. We've all felt shunned and had people turn their backs on us. Regardless of how the world thinks of us, in God's eyes, we are His children and He loves us.

Which Bible verses connect to the message of the song?

Matthew 25:40 (NIV): The King will reply, "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for Me."

Matthew 25:44-46 (NKJV): Then they also will answer Him, saying, "Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?" Then He will answer them, saying, "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me." And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

What is the takeaway message?

While the song speaks specifically of a man who has found himself outcast and on the brink, it's actually a metaphor for all of us. I think we can all relate to feeling unloved, unlovable, cast aside and even forgotten at some point in our lives. Usually because we've made horrible decisions or been forced into tragic circumstances. In the music video, as you watch and look into the faces of these men, women and children, think about how blessed you are and what you can do to help those in your area who are homeless or struggling.

Nobody made less of themselves than Christ. He stepped down out of perfection in Heaven, and although He was never imperfect, He came down to our imperfect world and gave all of Himself for the lesser, which is us. We are the lesser. He's the ultimate example. When the song takes a turn, I could almost hear Mary saying, "He's my Son." I'm sure she understood why He did what He did for us as she was visited by an angel as a young teenage girl, when she was told she was going to carry the Messiah as her child. His death was the price Jesus had to pay, and He knew He had to go through it, and because of His sacrifice it means everything.

Lyrics:
No one looks him in the eye
No one dares to take the time
We only see him as the guilty and the shameless
We write him off as wasted and nameless
 
This is a son
He has a mother
He is a child
Maybe a brother
This is a heart
This is a soul
In need of love
To see beyond the awful things that life has done
This is a son.
 
He knows how it feels to hurt
He thinks this is what he's worth
He knows we see him as the guilty and the shameless
And write him off as wasted and nameless
 
Mother Mary stands beneath the cross
Staring up in utter disbelief
And as the angry crowd screams out in hate
She whispers through her tears and through her grief...

While listening to this song, I am challenged to think about how I'm looking out for the least of these. Jesus commands believers to love others as He loved us, and to show His love by helping people who can't help themselves. That's how we can show God in us to others. Also, look for God in the "least of these," as Jesus tells us in Matthew 25:40 (NIV): "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for Me." 

We all need to be the love of Jesus. We are the body of Christ, and we don't have to do everything ourselves. God has placed us in different parts of the world, and we each have different abilities and opportunities to do something for God. How many of us have a lonely widow that lives near us that we can serve? You don't need to go on a mission trip. You can serve right where you are.

When you recognize God's Sovereignty in your life, then you are in the proper mindset to die to yourself and focus on the needs of others. That's His heart, to care for the oppressed, the victimized and the least of these. Look at injustice in the world through God's eyes and you can't help but be moved to act. Jesus commands believers to love others as He loved us, and to show His love by helping people who can't help themselves. There is so much injustice in the world, on so many levels.

Jody's mission is all about writing and singing songs that reflect what it means to have freedom in Christ. This great new worship song really sets me in the proper mindset to praise God for loving me so much that He gave His life away for all that was lost. Reflect on what Jesus did for us on the Cross by praying along with these words, "This is a heart, this is a soul, in need of love, to see beyond the awful things that life has done. This is a son." Amen to that!

Watch the music video below.
  https://www.hellenwoody.com/en/men/jackets-coats/jackets.html