Urban Rescue is a Lost Angeles based band centered on revival, the first band signed to Rend Family Records (an imprint founded by Irish worship band Rend Collective in partnership with Capitol Christian Music Group). Urban Rescue is led by Jordan Frye and focuses on the goal of reawakening believers and communities with the Gospel. 

This passionate pursuit of revival and true worship was forged by personal trials, a fact which gives their worship music a unique vulnerability. Urban Rescue joined Rend Collective this spring, traveling to 50+ cities across the US on the "As Family We Go Tour." Their first project with Rend Family Records, Wild Heart is available everywhere May 6. I had the chance to speak with vocalist Jordan Frye about "Kaleidoscope."

Please tell me the personal story behind this song.

This song came from a weird moment I had at a stop light here in Pasadena, California. Here in LA, we are in traffic all of the time. For whatever reason, I like to people watch. I was driving by myself and I was at the stop light, and just like every other day, I'm watching people cross the cross walk and stand on the street corner, and I wondered what it would look like to see this ordinary situation through the lens of God. What does God see right now? 

I immediately thought of the toy, a kaleidoscope, and colors rearranging and faces becoming new. When you look through a kaleidoscope, everything changes. It stays the same, but you see it differently. It was this moment of saying to myself, "God, I want to see what You see." Instead of things changing around me, don't change anything, but change me and come and rearrange me. I want Heaven's eyes and Heaven's sight. That's the conceptual beginning of the song. 

I brought the song to Gareth and Chris of Rend Collective. They were fascinated by the concept of the song, and they helped me iron out the kinks, and we wrote the song together along with Josh Sapp. That's the origin of the song. Now, after a couple of months of the song being released, I have thought of the song's biblical connection another way as well. I've seen so many passages in Scripture pop out at me as Jesus talked about vision and sight all of the time. He couldn't really drop it. The first story that comes to mind is Jesus healing the blind man and giving him his sight. It's a miracle, and also a powerful metaphor. When we come in contact with Jesus, He gives us new eyes. He gives us Heaven's eyes. I've been fascinated by that. 

I love explaining it because it has to do with compassion as well. I think a lot of times we make judgments about people and come into conversations with preconceived notions about people, not knowing who they are and how much God loves them, because we've already judged them. I think kaleidoscope is about coming to grips with the compassion of God, because He doesn't love anyone more or less but loves everyone equally. If we are to be Christians, this is at the core of the Gospel: loving our enemies as ourselves. It's treating people the way Jesus treated people. That's the heart of the song.

Which Bible verses connect to the message of the song? 

John 9:24-25 (NKJV): So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, "Give God the glory! We know that this Man is a sinner." He answered and said, "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see."

John 14:23-24 (MSG): "Because a loveless world," said Jesus, "is a sightless world. If anyone loves Me, he will carefully keep My word and my Father will love him--we'll move right into the neighborhood! Not loving Me means not keeping My words. The message you are hearing isn't Mine. It's the message of the Father who sent Me.

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.'"

Romans 11:36-12:2 (NKJV): "For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV): "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."

2 Corinthians 5:7 (NKJV): "For we walk by faith, not by sight."

1 John 3:18 (VOICE): My little children, don't just talk about love as an idea or a theory. Make it your true way of life, and live in the pattern of gracious love.

What is the takeaway message?

Remember when you were a kid and you looked through a kaleidoscope and every time you turned it, the colors and shapes would change? That's what worship did for me during a season where it felt like the landscape of my life was being ripped up and rearranged. It took what the world saw as broken and let me see it through the redemptive eyes of God. And that's what the song "Kaleidoscope" is about-- looking at the messed up parts of our lives and seeing hope.

There's something child-like about faith in general. It takes willingness to look through the lens in the first place and belief that things can be beautiful again. We need a new perspective, to see the world as God sees it. Somehow in the midst of our pain and brokenness, we need eyes to see God's redemptive plan.

We worship a God who comes down to us. Who walks with us, suffered for us and let his heart break for us. Worship creates an arena for us to lift that lens to our weary eyes and let the brilliance of God's redemptive plan in. Sight is everything. When we begin to see things differently, our love for others changes, the way we treat other people changes. It's not going to happen until our perception is changed and we allow the Gospel of equality to permeate our sight. I measure people and place them in categories. Jesus doesn't do that. If anyone is able to go deeper in their walk with Jesus relative to this song, it's about how they treat other people. That's the Spirit and the Truth of this song.

Lyrics:
In the chaos You see the glory
From the wreckage
Light is shining through
So open up these weary eyes

All around me color's changing
Though I'm broken hope is breaking through
As You open up these weary eyes

I wanna see what You see
Come and rearrange me
Let Your love be my kaleidoscope
Change me from the inside
Show me what it looks like
Let Your love be my kaleidoscope
Oh oh oh oh, oh oh 
Oh Let Your love be my kaleidoscope
Oh oh oh oh, oh oh 
Oh Let Your love be my kaleidoscope

Fill my world with childlike wonder
Every face, reflections of Your heart
As You open these weary eyes

Heaven's eyes, heaven's sight
Oh oh oh oh fill my heart
Fill my Life

This great song and album challenges all of us to live to for Jesus as a "living sacrifice." All of us are absolutely dependent on God.  He is the source of all things and He works in all of us to bring glory to Him. God wants us to offer ourselves as "living sacrifices" out of gratitude for the forgiveness of our sins. God wants us to be "transformed by the renewing of our mind" and "set your mind on things above." This song and album celebrates the freedom we are promised in God's Holy Word (2 Corinthians 5:17): "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." 

Christians are new creations on the inside. The Holy Spirit gives us new life, and we don't have to live anymore with our guilt, fears or worries. We are born again and we need to live as children of God. Too often we get wrapped up in our circumstances, get down on ourselves with negative thoughts and allow the Enemy to define self-worth. Jesus died on the Cross to set us free from the battle of our minds, from sin and death, and He wants us to have abundant life in Him.

Being a Christian isn't just keeping Jesus to ourselves, it's also about finishing the race that God has set out for each of us in our walks. Look at injustice in the world through God's eyes and you can't help but be moved to act like Paul and Silas. As Jordan and I discussed, whatever cause you support, be passionate about it and speak into the cause consistently. Ask yourself if you're losing sight of God's purpose for you. 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. That's His heart, to care for the oppressed, the victimized and the "least of these." Your love of God is indicative of how you treat other people. As the hymn sings, "They'll know we are Christians by our love." The band really says it well with their comments and this song. God explains love in 1st John 4:19: "We love because He first loved us."

The message behind this song is the story of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Though we were all guilty and deserving of judgment, we need to know this truth: "Though I'm broken, hope is breaking through as You open up these weary eyes." After contemplating the declarations that the song affirms in my own life, I reach the same conclusion and join Jordan in singing to God: "I wanna see what You see, come and rearrange me, let Your love be my kaleidoscope. Change me from the inside, show me what it looks like, let Your love be my kaleidoscope." Amen to that!

Watch the lyric video below.