Consider a recent conversation. I asked a new acquaintance, “Hey Steve, what do you do?”
“I’m a bass player for a band. We are pretty awesome,” he replied.
The next day I walked into a coffee shop, and there was Steve working as a barista.
“Hey Steve,” I said. “I thought you were a bass player, not a barista.”
“Yeah, I work here for now until my music career takes off,” he said.
That’s typical here. There are three types of “people” to every person—the type of person you are at work, the type of person you are when you’re doing your passion, and the type of person you are when you are at home.
Passion isn’t something Portlandians take lightly. If they have a goal, they will do whatever it takes to accomplish that goal. I met Tyler the other day. He moved to Portland because he wanted to be in an environment surrounded by passionate people who want to follow their dreams. He moved here to marry his girlfriend and pursue his dreams of being a film writer. Tyler currently lives with his wife in her parents’ basement as they both try to find jobs in the film field. They don’t care about anything besides their dreams.
Someone is always passionate about something here, and the way they treat their passions should inspire us to be passionate about something that we take seriously—our faith in Christ. If we, as Christians, decided to take our faith as seriously as Portlandians take their dreams, think of the amazing things that could be done. If we genuinely dedicate our lives towards God and Jesus, how different would our lives look?
Suppose someone asked you, “What you’re passionate about?” What would you say? Sports? Family? What if you said God? Google defines “passion” as “Strong and barely controllable emotion.” I think if we could barely control our emotions about God, our actions would be completely different.
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That is one of the most significant things I’ve learned about being in Portland—taking what Portlandians see as passion and applying it to what I am passionate about. It changes my outlook on my own faith and encourages me to reevaluate my priorities.
Are you passionate about something? What can you barely control your emotions about? I’m passionate about Jesus. I need to make my life look like that.
Mark Campbell, a student at Midwestern State University, is serving in Portland, Oregon, with Go Now Missions.
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