In a recent group lectio divina on today’s Gospel, a detail caught my heart in a way it never had before. At first, the words sound like a simple command — one more task for the man to complete: ‘Go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor.’ But as I lingered with the text, I began to hear something deeper. Jesus was not simply adding another task to the list. He was looking beneath the man’s actions to his motives. He was inviting him into a relationship of trust — into surrender, instead of self-sufficiency.

It was as if Jesus were saying: If you want to be perfect, let go of your own righteousness and follow me. Perfection is not earned through independence or transactional obedience; it is born in the soil of relationship and trust.

When we release what we cling to and follow Him, we inherit His life — a life richer than anything we could hold in our hands. This is true wealth: an abundance that begins in the soul and quietly shapes all we do, whether in plenty or in want. Perfection is not in keeping hold, but in letting go… and trusting Him.

By Caleb Bowles