Luke 12:22-40

22Jesus said to his disciples, ‘I tell you this: You should not worry about how to stay alive. Do not worry about the food that you need to stay alive. Do not worry about the clothes that you need to wear.

23Your life is more important than the food that you eat. Your body is more important than your clothes.

24Think about the birds. They do not plant seeds in the ground. They do not cut down plants to eat. They have no buildings to store food. But God gives them food to eat. You are much more valuable than the birds.

25Even if you always worry about your life, you cannot make it as much as one hour longer!

26No, you cannot even do a small thing like that. So, if you are always worrying about the things that you need, will that really help you?

27Think about how the wild flowers grow. They do not do work or make clothes for themselves. But I tell you this about them: Even one wild flower is more beautiful than King Solomon was. And King Solomon wore the most beautiful clothes.

28It is God that gives beautiful clothes even to the grass. One day the grass is growing in the field, but the next day people will cut it and burn it. God will certainly take care of you, much more than he takes care of the grass. You should trust him more than you do!

29Do not always be thinking about the food and drink that you need. Do not worry about things like that.

30People who do not know God are always trying to get these things. But as for you, your Father God knows that you need them.

31Instead, always think about the things that are important in the kingdom of God. Then God will also give you the things that you need each day.

32You are only a small group of people, but do not be afraid. Your Father God has given his kingdom to you. He is happy to do that.

33So sell what you have and give the money to poor people. Then you will have valuable things in heaven. That is like keeping your money in a bag that will never have any holes in it. There, the value of your things will never become less. There, nobody can take them from you. Insects cannot destroy them.

34If you do that, you will be thinking a lot about heaven. That is where you will have stored your valuable things.’

35Jesus said, ‘Always be ready for my return. Be like people that are ready to start work at any time. They have put on their clothes so that they are ready for work. And they have lit their lamps.

36You must be like servants that are waiting for their master to arrive. When he returns home from the marriage party, he will knock on the door. His servants should be ready to open it for him immediately.

37Those servants will be very happy if their master finds them awake. I tell you this: The master will dress himself to give them food. He will say to them, “Sit at the table. I will come to serve you.”

38The master may arrive in the middle of the night. He may even arrive just before the sun rises. But, if the master finds them awake and ready, the servants will be happy.

39You can be sure about this. The master of a house does not know when a man might come to rob him. If he knew the time, he would keep awake. He would not let the robber come into his house and take away his things.

40You also must be ready. The Son of Man will come at a time when you are not thinking about it.’