nothing? In what sense and to what extent is
association with Christ really necessary to us?

Something may of course be made of life apart from Christ. A man may
have much enjoyment and a man may do much good apart from Christ. He may
be an inventor, who makes human life easier or safer or fuller of
interest. He may be a literary man, who by his writings enlightens,
exhilarates, and elevates mankind. He may, with entire ignorance or
utter disregard of Christ, toil for his country or for his class or for
his cause. But the best uses and ends of human life cannot be attained
apart from Christ. Only in Him does the reunion of man with God seem
attainable, and only in Him do God and God's aim and work in the world
become intelligible. He is as necessary for the spiritual life of men as
the sun is for this physical life. We may effect something by
candle-light; we may be quite proud of electric light, and think we are
getting far towards independence; but what man in his senses will be
betrayed by these attainments into thinking we may dispense with the
sun? Christ holds the key to all that is most permanent in human
endeavour, to all that is deepest and best in human character. Only in
Him can we take our place as partners with God in what He is really
doing with this world. And only from Him can we draw courage,
hopefulness, love to prosecute this work. In Him God does reveal
Himself, and in Him the fulness of God is found by us. He is in point of
fact the one moral stem apart from whom we are not bearing and cannot
bear the fruit God desires.

If, then, we are not bringing forth fruit, it is because there is a flaw
in our connection with Christ; if we are conscious that the results of
our life and activity are not such results as He designs, and are in no
sense traceable to Him, this is because there is something about our
adherence to Him that is loose and needs rectification. Christ calls us
to Him and makes us sharers in His work; and he who listens to this call
and counts it enough to be a branch of this Vine and do His will is
upheld by Christ's Spirit, is sweetened by His meekness and love, is
purified by His holy and fearless rectitude, is transformed by the
dominant will of this Person whom he has received deepest into his soul,
and does therefore bring forth, in whatever place in life he holds, the
same kind of fruit as Christ Himself would bring forth; it is indeed
Christ who brings forth these fruits, Christ