“Really, do people still go to the opera? Opera is still a thing? What am I doing here?”

All of these thoughts ran through my head this past Saturday night. My girlfriend and I attended the Atlanta Opera’s production of “Tosca”.

The opera was impressive, extravagant, and I must admit, entertaining.

Never in my life did I think I’d be writing a sentence like that. If you were to tell me two years ago I would soon become a regular attendee of the opera I would have believed you, only if you were referring to the soap opera of professional wrestling.

Then I met my girlfriend. She’s an opera student. She opened my eyes to a section of the arts I did not know was still vibrant and relevant.

So there we sat Saturday night, taking in a 3 hour opera performance.

This is not a post for me to brag about what a wonderful boyfriend I am for gritting my teeth, forsaking football and enduring the opera. I would be lying if I said I did not enjoy the entire experience of dressing up, drinking $9 champagne, and taking in the incredible Italian singing.

This post is just to point out sometimes you do crazy things for the ones you love.

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That’s kind of what Jesus was all about – doing crazy things for the ones He loved.

Leaving the gates of paradise to slum it with humanity? That’s crazy.

Enduring countless complaints and confusions as the disciples mangled His teachings every day? That’s crazy.

Still every time Jesus kept his cool. He took a deep breath and reminded Himself, “Sometimes you do crazy things for the ones you love.”

Love is patient. Love is kind. Love never fails.

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Last night my girlfriend and I got to see Dawes, one of our favorite bands, in Athens. This was a concert we were equally excited about attending – something akin to both our tastes.

Love is easy in situations like this. We must remember, though, love was never intended to be easy all the time.

The love Jesus showed isn’t just for the good times. It’s for the times we suffer. It’s for the times we go out of our way to put a smile on someone’s face.

The love Jesus showed sits patiently through operas and wrestling soap operas. The love Jesus showed patiently endures misunderstandings and ill-informed opinions and the whims of the wild heart.

Going to the opera was crazy for me. Watching wrestling is crazy for my girlfriend.

Neither of those are close to the craziness of Jesus. Suffering for humanity was the craziest thing of all for the son of God.

Sometimes you do crazy things for the ones you love.