Why should I continue to follow Jesus when the cost becomes greater than the benefit? This is a fundamental question that everyone who follows Jesus or is considering following Jesus must answer.
If we are following Jesus to get social acceptance, what will we do when it is not socially acceptable to follow Jesus? If we are following Jesus to help our career, what will we do when following Jesus is limiting our career options? If we are following Jesus because we want him to guarantee the American dream of affluence and personal peace, what will we do when we discover that real Christianity may make us poor and has meant that for many Christians around the world they are exposed to persecution and marginalization?
The writer of Hebrews is delivering a message to ancient Christians who are having to answer this exact question and many of them are tempted to abandon Jesus because the cost has become too great. Today Christians in the US and around the world face the same question; if commitment to Jesus could cost me everything, what makes commitment to Jesus worth it?