Becoming the Bride of Christ is the greatest honor any human being will ever receive. What are God’s expectations of us to receive such an incredible reward? What attitude does He seek? How can we be a bride that truly delights Him? We can find answers in the book of Ruth.

Breaking into the story, after Ruth meets Boaz and impresses him, he generously cares for her and her mother-in-law, Naomi, in their great need.

Naomi instructed Ruth to wash and anoint herself, and to visit Boaz where he would be sleeping that night in the threshingfloor. “And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do” (Ruth 3:4).

These are very specific and peculiar instructions. How did Ruth react? She told Naomi, “All that thou sayest unto me I will do” (verse 5). What a beautiful attitude.

Ruth is a type of God’s Church. “This is not about looking to a woman or a man. This is about our attitude toward God,” Gerald Flurry wrote. “[W]e need to strive for this wonderful attitude: All that you tell me, I will do. This is the attitude we must have toward Jesus Christ. He wants us to get to the point where we say, All that you say unto me, I will do—even if we don’t understand it!” (Ruth—Becoming the Bride of Christ).

A more recent example, as this booklet explains, is Herbert W. Armstrong and his wife Loma. They kept God’s holy days for 14 years before understanding their meaning. Mr. Armstrong just looked into the Bible and said, All that you say unto me, I will do.

Likewise, God desires our perfect submission to Him. He wants us to think as He thinks! This requires submitting to God’s will in our life even in the smallest details, and doing it with a Ruth-like attitude.

“We have to reach a certain level of character before we will be ready for our marriage to Jesus Christ. We have to passionately love the law God gave on that first Pentecost” (ibid).

All that you say unto me, I will do—this is the attitude we need to have toward God’s law. We need to truly love it and desire to apply it in every aspect of our lives! Through the New Covenant, God is writing the law in our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33). He is helping us to genuinely love His law of love!

We need to go to God in prayer to deepen our understanding of His law and how to apply it. Sometimes we can think we understand something, but when we truly consider it from God’s perspective—from the real spiritual intent and depth that God wants us to have—it can take on a new dimension.

When we study the Bible, we need this all that you say I will do attitude. Practically, we do this by learning, then applying—doing what we are taught, living according to God’s will as illuminated through Bible study.

Are you truly motivated by God’s love to serve His Work and His people? What is your attitude? How much is God’s Spirit guiding your decisions, rather than your selfish, carnal mind?

“Even if the true Church of God directs you to do something that you don’t fully understand (as long as it is biblical), will you say, All that you say unto me, I will do? Will you humble yourself to the point of total submission? And will you do so with a good attitude? … This is the attitude Christ demands of His wife, an attitude which shows you have faith that God knows what He is doing. … God is going to bring each of us to this point before we marry Him” (ibid).

This is God’s ultimate goal. He wants us to live for eternity, and He knows we need Ruth’s attitude to achieve that goal.

God the Father wants to see a Bride who is excited to marry His Son. What man is not excited when his wife, or fiancée, really goes after him and shows him how much she loves him and wants to do everything to please him?

“And she went down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother in law bade her” (verse 6). Ruth followed through on every detail.

“God is saying that if we can get to the point where we will do all that God says and won’t compromise on one detail, then He will make us His wife for all eternity” (ibid).

Let the magnitude of our calling motivate you to develop Ruth’s attitude: All that you say, I will do!