If someone asked us to explain what it is that we believe as Christians I doubt that we could go much beyond a sentence or two without speaking of forgiveness. It goes almost without saying, but forgiveness is an idea that is so central to what we celebrate as Christians that there is no virtually no way of explaining the Gospel without explaining it. We worship a forgiver of sins, and we look upon ourselves as a forgiven people. Nevertheless, many Christians struggle to believe that they have truly been forgiven by God. Others struggle to extend that same forgiveness to others who have wronged them. Still others understand the biblical imperative to forgive those who have sinned against them, and they want to, but when they take stock of their heart they wonder if they ever truly forgave certain people from their past. In Matthew 18:21-35 Jesus tells a parable about forgiveness.