The Mathematical Models of Glory
Rob offered frameworks that added quantifiable precision to the discussion of spiritual formation—though both would be quick to note that God's work transcends all formulas.
Rob, the engineer, presented what he called "a super geeky engineering version of up and to the right." Drawing on a whiteboard, he explained: "The idea of glory being what this is all about for God—the amount of glory we're giving Him is proportional to the amount of time we're spending in the Spirit. So the Spirit is where all of peace, joy, love, all those characteristics are coming from. The amount of glory we're giving God at any given time is the amount of time we're spending in the Holy Spirit."
He continued building the model: "When we think about our life over time and we're looking at the cumulative glory that we're giving God at any given time on any given day, the amount of cumulative glory of our life is being added based on how much of the time that day we're walking in the Holy Spirit."
Then came the stunning insight: "Actually, we could be generating more glory for God here"—he pointed to the valley, the breaking stage—"because of our decision to spend more time in the Spirit through that. So we might actually be accelerating glory for God during those hardest things. But all along, this is all up into the right."
He added one final layer: "Every time temptation happens, we fall down or sin equals negative glory. So sin would be decreasing the glory of God. But this integral"—he drew the calculus symbol—"this is the idea of cumulative glory over time."
The room erupted in laughter and amazement. "We'll get all the engineers to read it at least," someone joked. But beneath the humor was profound truth: the valleys aren't wasted time in God's economy. If we walk in the Spirit through the breaking, we may actually multiply glory more in the depths than on the peaks.
Tom— offered an essential caveat: "I would add that I think I struggle with performance-based thinking, and the caveat of whether this is a good thing or not is whether we have an attitude of 'I have to' or 'I get to.' Because this could become performance-based, which is fear-based relationship rather than a joy-based relationship. The God of all grace who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ will Himself restore you and confirm you and strengthen you and establish you. The tendency of this, if we're not careful, is it's back to our performance."
The distinction mattered immensely. Rob's formula was true, but it could be weaponized by shame if divorced from grace. The goal isn't to white-knuckle our way through suffering to manufacture glory for God. The goal is to remain present to God in the suffering, to let Him restore our hearts in the breaking, to surrender to His formation even when it hurts. The glory is a byproduct of intimacy, not a product of performance.
Russell's voice carried both strength and tenderness: "Even in Scripture, in the gospels, it talks about standing before the Father. You want to hear, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant.' So there's still—even if you don't look at that as a performance-based thing, but as a relationship-based thing—what kid doesn't want to stand in front of their dad and hear, 'Hey, you did really good. Nice work.' Wow."
The math and the heart, the formula and the relationship, the quantifiable and the qualitative—all held together in tension. Glory for God's sake, yes. But also intimacy with the Father. Both. Always both.