Several years ago I moved to this area. I ended up in a community called The Bluff at Belle Island.

As you drive into the neighborhood there is a sign that identifies this is the case. When people in our neighborhood are asked where they live the majority will say, "I live at "Belle Island." Technically, this is wrong since at the end of the community there is such an island which is Belle Island.

This isn’t really that big of a deal except for the point I am about to make. I say I live at Belle Island because I live close. I live in a neighborhood that has that name in its name or it’s simpler to say.

Here is the point. There are people who, if asked what faith they identify with, would answer, "Christian," when in fact they aren’t really true followers of Jesus Christ. They give this answer because their parents were Christians or they live in a Christian country or because they go to church or were baptized as babies.

The truth of the matter is that they may be close but they are not in.

Belle Island is uninhabited and most likely I will never live there, if and when lots are sold, primarily because they will come with a premium price tag. In other words, I may never be able to get in.

It’s all different when it comes to becoming a Christian, because no matter who you are, how much money you have, or what you have done, you can get in. You can proudly say with no reserve, "I am a Christian."

The Bible confirms this in Revelation 22:17 where we are given the invitation. It reads, "Whoever is thirsty let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life."