There is a illustration that has been floating around Facebook for the past few months that looks a little like this...
You have most likely seen it before, and if you haven't before, you have now. That makes you all equal, but some of you have seen it months ago and have had a long time to focus your thoughts/judgments about it whereas those who are seeing it for the first time are at a disadvantage because they have not had that same time. Now what does this have to do with anything? Well in verse 10 it says that the Lord will judge with equity and while I haven't mentioned it in the same words I have suggested that we think of God's judgment as coming from a place of equality. In other words God judges us all by the same standard, and by that standard we pass or fail.
We think that way because our system tends to act that way, at least in theory. Though if you think about it we often act out of equity in our own personal relationships, after all we do not treat a new friend the same way we do our spouse, and if we do there will be blood. In the above illustration the goal is to give different levels of help to different people so that they can all have the same fair shot at seeing the game/enjoying life/surviving, what that means as far as God's judgment is that God judges us within the realm of our history, our biology, and our stories. Equal judgment would act without the acknowledgement that we come from different places and situations and say that if you do x you are in and if you don't do x you aren't. Equitable judgment sees our whole being and judges us each as individuals.
Knowing this should bring us joy, knowing that we are not all held to the same standard, that the one who has been given more has more expected of them and, vice versa, the one who has been given less has less expected of them. This means that you are not judged based on the life of someone more holy, or more intelligent, or more powerful, or more wealthy, or more attractive, nor are you judged based on the life of anyone with less of the same characteristics, you are judged based solely on the life of the person you spend every moment of every day with, yourself.
+ How does it change your view of God's judgment (and love for that matter) knowing that it is equitable not equal?
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