“Growing up in the church, there was always this belief that if you were not perfect, God wouldn’t bless you or hear you. This is not something that was said directly but instead the message behind many sermons. Do right and God will… but what happens when you find yourself divorced at 33? Something the church looks down on? Are you good enough now? Are you too dirty now for God to see you? …. In the last couple of weeks I’ve been asking myself “as a Christian, what does God require of me if I am not able to be perfect?” After a simple prayer one afternoon looking for parking in seattle to go to my last cancer post opp appointment I concluded this — trust and dependence on Him. That is our role as Christians. That’s the whole gospel. I heard a quote once that said “you contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin that made it necessary”. To claim anything else would make the statement that Jesus’s blood was not enough. That we must add to it. But the truth is this — when I care for, love, provide for and support my children, I do not require anything from them to do so because I know they are dependent on me. Why do I do it? Because of the relationship. I love them and they love me. I don’t expect them to be perfect and actually want to be there for them more when they experience pain or loss or make mistakes. Id imagine our loving Heavenly Father is the same with us. He knows we can’t do anything on our own, so much so that he sent Jesus to do it for us. As Christian’s, our act of love is this, stay connected to the vine. Daily, saying “God. I can’t do this on my own. I need help. I depend on you. I trust you to help me through this.” If you take away church services, worship teams, coffee stands, Sunday bulletins and even bibles (which some Christian’s around the world dont have access to) and it’s just you and God left, you have a relationship. A relationship where we know how little power we have, and how infinite power He has — a relationship where we pray often and walk humbly with our God knowing we need Him to do absolutely anything.”

Separate a branch from its vine, and it loses its source of support. The vine supplied its water, nutrients, and very life! Oh at first, it looks alive because some moisture remains in it, but eventually it dries out, weakens, shrivels up and dies. It can no longer produce fruit because it is no longer connected to its source! 
In John 15:5 Jesus says, “ I am the vine, you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me." (CSB). 
The key phrase is remains in me. Jesus is highlighting the seriousness of staying spiritually connected to him in a living relationship of dependence through prayer, the Word, trust, obedience and such. We receive what only “He” can give; peace, wisdom, patience, kindness, His love, purpose, and so much more!

In regards to John 15:5, I see it as everything we have and everything we are is only because of the grace of God. Everything is His, including us and the breath in our lungs. Our life is not our own, and it is in our best interest to recognize this and continually connect with our Maker to seek and accomplish His perfect will for each of us. It is not easy, especially for the reasons I just listed, that all need attention at the same time while we are in the world but not of it. Staying connected to God, His people, and His plan allows us the ability to tend to all He allows in our lives, especially when it honors Him.

John 15:5 The Vine is Christ's divine life, and as believers, we can be joined to Him by grace through faith. Christ is speaking to His disciples who have been following Him for three years; now He is addressing them the night before He is to be crucified, letting them know the conditions for a fruitful, effective life that is pleasing to God and a blessing to others. Remain faithful to His Word; see John 15:7. It's not learned behavior that will make for a supernatural life, but only by our dependency on His Holy Spirit flowing through us as He initiates.

I've actually been trying to learn about grafting this last year; I have some beautiful Japanese maples I want to reproduce. For trees, it's the only way to create the exact imprint of the 'parent' tree (seeds won't, they will have different characteristics). For vines, it usually combines a hardy fruit with a disease-resistant root. I think you could look at John 15:5 as, apart from the main vine, you are not disease-resistant (while you may produce some fruit, you do not have the resistance to disease, sin) and must be attached to the exact imprint of truth, beauty, goodness, etc., to have what is necessary for life and to be truly changed to produce what is truly good.

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I am the vine, you are the branches. The one who abides in me while I abide in him produces much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. This makes me think of 1 Corinthians 12. We are a part of the whole through the gifts He has given. Apart from God, we are not equipped to even come close to sharing who or what God is. Our knowledge in our faith is always growing; we will fall short unless we seek wisdom and counsel from God. I love a thought that I picture in my mind when I read John 15:5. The picture is more in-depth for me to grasp what’s being said. I see God as the root, Jesus is the vine; through a firm foundation and strong roots, God enabled the vine to stretch out to connect us to Him. The Great Commission has given us the opportunity to branch out from the foundation to share Him, thus being fruitful. A branch broken from its life source cannot produce fruit; it will die.

  Without being connected to Jesus, we can't produce anything, just like He said. If the branch (us) isn't attached to the vine (Jesus), we aren't able to produce any fruit and will eventually die. Also, remember that He is our source of strength and we draw strength from the vine, Jesus. We can't survive without Him. Praise God!!