Life Abundant

A Plan for God’s Children

By Minister Dearest Price

“You shall live and not die.”

Those words are often spoken in moments of sickness, grief, or crisis but they also speak to something just as urgent: the right to live with dignity.

Jesus said in John 10:10, “I came that they may have life, and have it more abundantly.” Abundant life was never meant to be symbolic or postponed until heaven. It was meant to be experienced here, in our homes, our work, our communities, and yes, even in our finances.

Yet too many of God’s children are barely surviving.

We are serving faithfully, working diligently, giving generously, and still struggling to make it. We are told to trust God while wages remain unlivable. We are praised for our faith while quietly drowning under the weight of rent, food, transportation, healthcare, and the cost of simply showing up.

Scripture is clear:

“The worker deserves his wages.” (Luke 10:7)

God never intended obedience to result in exhaustion or faithfulness to lead to poverty. That is not holiness, it is imbalance. There is a difference between sacrifice and suffering caused by systems that deny people what they need to live.

Deuteronomy 8:18 reminds us that it is God who gives us the power to get wealth not for greed, but for capacity. Capacity to live. Capacity to give. Capacity to build. Capacity to sustain our families and our callings.

When wages are not livable, life becomes constricted. Dreams are deferred. Health suffers. Ministry turns into survival. And still, God declares over His people: you shall live and not die.

As we look toward 2026, the Church must be courageous enough to name this truth: God’s children deserve a livable wage. Not only in the marketplace, but within the Body of Christ itself. If we believe in life abundant, then we must be willing to address the conditions that make life sustainable.

This is why I am deeply encouraged by the Life Abundant: Financial Fortitude for the Body Classes being designed for January 2026 at Jonahville. These classes are not about prosperity gimmicks or chasing wealth for status. They are about stewardship, education, and empowerment. They are about helping God’s people understand budgeting, financial planning, income sustainability, and economic resilience so faith is not lived under constant financial fear.

Financial fortitude is not a lack of faith. It is wisdom.

The Good News is not just that God saves, it is that God sustains. Christ fed the hungry, provided for His disciples, and challenged systems that exploited the vulnerable. He never asked people to beg in order to serve. He invited them into community, provision, and shared responsibility.

“You shall live and not die” is not just a prayer, it is a mandate. A declaration that life should be protected, supported, and honored in every way.

As 2026 approaches, may we commit to building a Church that does more than inspire, it equips. A Church that does more than pray, it works. A Church that believes abundant life includes livable wages, financial literacy, and dignity for God’s children.

Because living is holy.

And survival alone was never the promise.