“Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself.” (John 13:3-4)

John 13:3 describes the confidence that Jesus had in His relationship with His Heavenly Father. As we saw in the devotion on :3 here, Jesus KNEW: 1) Where He came from; 2) What God had given Him, and 3) Where He was going.  As a result we see here in :4 the strength this confidence gave Him:

Out of the assurance of His relationship with the Father which :3 tells us that He had, :4 says that Jesus “got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself.” In the confidence of His relationship with God, He was able to rise up and serve others — washing His disciples’ feet, even in a time when He was facing impending torture and death.

Contrary to what the world might think, it is not the weak who serve. It takes great confidence and strength to humble one’s self and minister to others. Jesus had that kind of confidence in His relationship with the Father, and out of that confidence, He served others.

Likewise, we as Jesus’ followers will best be able to serve others when we are most confident in our relationship with God.  We serve out of the strength of confidence, not out of weakness. It is those who are confident in their relationship with the Lord, who are strong enough to follow in His footsteps, and serve.