How and Why Christians should Show Mercy Like Jesus

I have discovered from experience that people who deserve mercy are often the least merciful. No wonder the Bible says:

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”

I remember listening to Pastor Christ Oyakhilome share a story. He said a man had been willed into the church for prayers. Obviously, the man couldn’t help himself and needed someone to assist him to the destination.

But the man, once seated on the wheelchair, reacted negatively to the person carrying him, even before Pastor Chris. Because of that bad attitude, Pastor Chris sent them away, asking them to return another time.

Can you imagine such a situation? This was a man desperately in need of mercy to be healed, yet he himself had none to give.

I also had an experience that shocked me, showing how people often treat others without mercy. One day, I was coming back and saw an old friend sitting in a very suspicious manner. Looking at him, it was clear something was wrong.

I walked up and asked what was wrong. He told me he was sick, and I prayed for him—and he got better.

Later, I learned that he had been vomiting in the vicinity, and the landlord had sent him away. They claimed he drank himself into this situation and didn’t deserve mercy. They said he should go home and die.

After I prayed and he recovered, people started questioning me strangely:

“Didn’t you know he got drunk? Why did you pray for him?”

They acted as if I was wrong for showing mercy, even though the man was dying. I couldn’t help but wonder:

If someone is in need, should I wait to judge their past mistakes before helping? Should I have let him die to “teach him a lesson”?

The irony is that these very people who judged me are also sinners who need God’s mercy. Many pray every morning, believing God will answer them—but they cannot show mercy to a fellow human in need simply because they consider them “undeserving.”

If God will judge us with the same standard we judge others, I wonder how many of us would receive anything from Him.

In all you do, learn to show mercy to people. Don’t wait until you see Jesus on the street before pretending to be merciful. Show mercy to those who don’t deserve it—just as Jesus did for us.

The Bible reminds us that God commanded His love toward us even when we were sinners. When Jesus saw nothing good in us, He came to die for us. He didn’t wait to see good attributes in our lives.

That is the mercy of God. If we only show mercy to those who “deserve it,” it is no longer mercy—it is just a reward.

So I ask you: How merciful are you toward people?