then apply the same loving mercy to fellow human beings. The parable of the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18:21ff. is a further expression of this same point. Thus the real gist of the matter here is “forgive us, just as we on a lesser scale forgive our debtors/trespassers.” An unforgiving Christian is an oxymoron, and he or she has put an impediment in his or her heart to receiving final forgiveness. There is indeed a vital connection between the vertical and horizontal expressions of forgiveness