Devotion to God is an aspect of the fear of God. The fear of God is constancy, firmness, devotion, equanimity, stability. The devotee fears God, that is the devotee lays down cult and worship to God. Devotion is one of the most important spiritual gifts in the gospel along with mercy and charity
In the sermon on the Mount there is a beatitude referring devotion to God: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth". Matthew 5:5. The prize of the devotion to God is to "inherit the earth", inheriting the earth means settled life, as opposed to the nomadic life that is insecure. The jews in the times of Moses, received the promise land for their devotion. The secure life is the return of devotion to God.
People with constancy, who worship wisdom have the prize of hope and security as opposed to hopelessness, that is to say those who follow the winds of luck and live like rudderless ships.
In the Gospels the spiritual gift of devotion is a feminine gift, just as perseverance is a masculine gift. Let us remember that Mary, the mother of Jesus is his first devotee: "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." Luke 2:19.
Another example of this gift is the history of Jesus and Mary Magdalene:
"Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body has been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
They asked her, "Woman why are you crying?"
"They have taken my Lord away", she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
He asked her, "Woman why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?"
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I wil get him."
Jesus said to her, "Mary."
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means "Teacher").
Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brother's and tell them, ´I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.´"
Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her" John 20:11-18.
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The Gospels explain to us that devotees have a spiritual purpose by the hope, and this is the eternal life, the contemplative life and thus participate in the glory of God: "This is the eternal life, that they know you the only true God", John 17:3.
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