Being set free through transformation

So how do we do it?  How do we break away?  How are we transformed?  We stay close.  We abide.  We remain.  What?  That's it?!  Andy Stanley states, "The character of Christ is not manufactured by us it is produced through us and must be produced by Christ."  John 15:5 states, "I am the vine and you are the branches.  If a man remains (abides) in me and I in him he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." Being transformed is not about us getting better or us being like Christ, it is about us getting close to Christ.  It is about association, not imitation.  It is about being with Christ.  It's about keeping it relational and not religious.