Luke 12:16-55

¹⁶Then he told them a story as an illustration. “Once there was a rich man who owned land that was very productive.

¹⁷The man said to himself, ‘What shall I do? I've nowhere to store my crops.

¹⁸I know what I'll do,’ he decided. ‘I'll pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and then I'll be able to store all my crops and everything I own.

¹⁹Then I'll tell myself: You have enough to live on for many years, so take life easy: eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!’

²⁰But God said to him, ‘You foolish man! Your life will be demanded back this very night, and then who will get everything you've stored up?’

²¹This is what happens to people who hoard up wealth for themselves but are not rich as far as God is concerned.”

²²Jesus told his disciples, “That's why I tell you don't worry about life, about what to eat, or about what clothes you should wear.

²³Life is about more than food, and the body is about more than wearing clothes.

²⁴Look at the ravens. They don't sow or reap, they don't have any storerooms or barns, but God feeds them. And you're far more valuable than birds!

²⁵Can you add an hour to your life by worrying about it?

²⁶If you can't do anything about such small things, why worry about the rest?

²⁷Think of the lilies and how they grow. They don't work, and they don't spin thread for clothes, but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was as beautifully dressed as one of them.

²⁸So if God clothes the fields with such beautiful flowers, which are here today but gone tomorrow when they are burned in a fire to heat an oven, how much more will God clothe you, you who have so little trust!

²⁹Don't be concerned about what you're going to eat or drink—don't worry about it.

³⁰These are all things that people in the world worry about, but your Father knows you need them.

³¹Search for God's kingdom, and you'll be given these things as well.

³²Don't be afraid, little flock, for your Father is happy to give you the kingdom.

³³Sell what you have, and give the money to the poor. Get yourselves purses that don't wear out: treasure in heaven that will never run out, where no thief can steal it and no moth can destroy it.

³⁴For what you value the most shows who you really are.

³⁵Be dressed and ready, and keep your lamps lit,

³⁶like servants waiting for their master when he returns from his wedding feast, prepared to open the door quickly for him when he comes and knocks.

³⁷How good it will be for those servants that the master finds watching when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will get dressed, have them sit down for a meal, and will come and serve them himself!

³⁸Even if he comes at midnight, or just before dawn—how good for them if he finds them watching and ready!

³⁹But remember this: if the master knew when a thief was coming, he would keep watch, and not allow his house be broken into.

⁴⁰You must also be ready, for the Son of man is coming when you don't expect him.”

⁴¹“Is this story you're telling just for us, or for everyone?” Peter asked.

⁴²The Lord replied, “Who then is the trustworthy and wise manager, the one person in the household that the master puts in charge to share out their food at the right time?

⁴³It will be good for that servant when his master returns and finds him doing what he should.

⁴⁴I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of everything.

⁴⁵But what if the servant were to say to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time in coming,’ and then starts beating the other servants, both men and women, feasting and getting drunk?

⁴⁶That servant's master will return unexpectedly one day at a time he wasn't aware of, and will punish him severely, treating him as totally untrustworthy.

⁴⁷That servant who knew what his master wanted and yet didn't get ready or follow his instructions, will be beaten severely;

⁴⁸but the servant who didn't know and did things deserving punishment will be beaten only lightly. From those who are given much, much will be required, and from those who are entrusted with more, more will be demanded.

⁴⁹I have come to set the earth on fire, and I really wish it was already burning!

⁵⁰But I have a baptism to go through, and I'm in agony, wishing it was over!

⁵¹Do you think that I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, I bring division.

⁵²From now on, if there are five in a family, they will be divided against each other: three against two, and two against three.

⁵³They will be divided against each other—father against son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

⁵⁴Then Jesus spoke to the crowds. “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘a rain-shower's coming,’ and it happens.

⁵⁵When a south wind blows, you say ‘it's going to be hot,’ and it is.