I was reading the Bible, and God helped me see it in a different way. I came across the verse that says, "For all have sinned and fall short of God's glory ." I realized I had been reading it wrong up until this point, and I feel like many others might be overlooking a key word as well.

I've often heard people quote this verse—and I've even said it myself—as, "For all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory ." But I realized that "fallen" is a past-tense word, whereas the Bible actually says "fall," which is present and ongoing. That one word dramatically changes the narrative of what God is saying in the Bible.

If you say, "For all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory ," it makes it seem like it's only referring to the past—that we sinned and fell short, implying our need for salvation based solely on what we’ve done. But when it says "fall short," it’s communicating that everyone has sinned and continues to fall short of His standard. It’s a reminder that, even after accepting Jesus and striving to live a Christian life, we will still fall short. The human condition makes it almost impossible—if not impossible—to live fully up to God’s standards.

This realization helped me see that living up to God’s standard requires a continuous strengthening of our walk and relationship with Him. It’s not a one-time event but an ongoing process. To me, it’s incredible how much meaning can change with just one word.