The Call

I've been working on writing a "commentary" for a while now. I call it that, but it is really just something I do to study the Scripture and really think about what I'm reading and how it applies. I'm not publishing, or anything, but it's something I work on from time to time just for myself.
The last Scripture that I worked with was the end of chapter 10 of Mark: the story of how blind Bartimaeus regained His sight. I really realized some things when I was looking over the account. But the part of the passage that inspired me most was Bartimaeus' response to Jesus' call. Read it with me:

46And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 47And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" 48And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" 49And Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." And they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take heart. Get up; he is calling you." 50And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51And Jesus said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?" And the blind man said to him, "Rabbi, let me recover my sight." 52And Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well." And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.

They told the man, "Jesus is calling you," and he threw off his cloak to spring up and come to Jesus. I believe the NASB adds that He did this "immediately." Do you see where I'm going with this? Jesus called, and blind Bartimaeus hastened to come to Him!
The same should be true for us. When Jesus calls, we go. End of story. We do the exact same thing blind Bartimaeus did. Remember Hebrews 12:1-2? It says that we throw off everything that would hinder us from coming to Jesus. What have you thrown off in order to come to Jesus? What do you need to throw off?
More importantly, what has Jesus called you to do? and, are you doing it? Sure, maybe the Lord has called some of us individually to certain things, but there are general callings that we are all supposed to be doing. There are the calls of purity; we each need to be trying to "cling to what is good and abhor what is evil." But there is also the call of the Great Commission. Ouch, touch a nerve? I know it's like hitting my funny bone when I talk about it. Let's face it, evangelism and service are some calls we really need to work on. Someone has asked, "have we turned the Great Commission into the Great Option?" It's a scary thought.
When Jesus calls, we put everything else aside and come to Him. And if you're wondering if it's going to be worth it, just ask the now not-so-blind Bartimaeus!