Both are believers, though Justin only nominally so (or at worst, a hedonist). Michelle is a faithful believer, committed to serving (slaving?) at church. By the end of the encounter, Justin declares that he is happy while Michelle is left wondering, “Am I happy?”

While it’s easy to say Justin is misguided—we’ve heard plenty of sermons about that—I’m just as passionate in saying Michelle is misguided as well. (Isa 1:11 echoes here.) Justin seeking pleasure in the world misses his true and lasting joy. Michelle serving the church and yet wondering about happiness also misses her true and lasting joy.

The trick to the drama is the person we don’t see. The missing character in the drama is actually ever-present. Because he is not depicted does not mean he is not there. And because we don’t see him, we open the door to wonder about happiness and joy.

I’m speaking of God, of course. God is the “all-satisfying Object“[1] who, if we lose sight of then questions about happiness or “Is it worth it?” creep in. Losing sight of God or thinking he isn’t in the story drains our joy and hollows out our service. In Martha and Mary’s story, Jesus stands right there and it is plain as day who is in the right place. His presence is all-satisfying and awe-inspiring. We are to bask in him, soak in him and then serve to make him known to anyone with the ears to hear.

This, then, is what this website is all about: To seek a God-entranced Vision of All Things. To lift my dull eyes to see God at the beginning, middle and end of all things. Anything less is just not worth the time.

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[1] John Piper quoting C.S. Lewis in Desiring God.

1. Do you get bored when someone reads a longish passage of Scripture in your church? Do you start wishing they’d get on with the music?
2. Do you need music playing in the background for the reading of Scripture to affect your emotions?
3. Does a prayer seem too “plain” or “stark” to you if it doesn’t have music playing behind it?
4. Do you feel depressed a few weeks after a worship conference because you haven’t felt close to God in a long time?
5. Do you desperately look forward to the next conference you’re going to attend because you know that, finally, you’ll be able to feel close to God again?
6. If you’re in a big church with great music, are you able to worship when you visit your parents’ small rural church?
7. Do you ever feel worshipful in the middle of the week, at work, at school, etc. just because of thinking about God and his grace? Or does that only happen when the music’s playing?
8. Do you tend to feel closer to God when you’re alone with your iPOD than you do when you’re gathered with God’s people in your church?
9. Do you feel like you just can’t connect with other believers who haven’t had the same “worship experiences” that you have? Can you only connect with other believers who “know what it feels like to really worship?”
10. Is your sense of spiritual well-being based more on feeling close to God, or knowing that you are close to God because of Jesus Christ?