If you’re on social media, then you know that the “In My Era” caption trend has become extremely popular. When I first saw this trend surface on Instagram, I had no idea what it meant. At first glance, I thought those videos were from older generations reminiscing on what they used to do in the “good ole days.” If that were the case, I would’ve fired up a video, talking about how in my era everybody collected Beanie Babies. Yeah, in my era we played Super Mario on the original Nintendo. Don’t forget, everybody and their momma owned and wore a tie-dyed shirt. Much to my surprise though, “In My Era” videos are all about featuring the current theme for your life.

Now that I have got your attention by talking about social media, let’s add another layer by chatting about shoes. All the ladies reading this right now probably just got way too excited. If we’re being honest with ourselves, quite a few of us have more pairs of shoes than we have pairs of clean matching socks. Air Force Ones, Converse, high heels, boots in every color, and the list goes on and on. I am right there with you if you love shoes. I am a Sperry’s and Nike kind of guy. Ready for some confession? True story, I am also a huge fan of Crocs. For years I used to throw shade at people for wearing Crocs, until one day I tried them on and the light bulb turned on. They are comfy, easy to slide on, and that sport mode? Game changer. Nevertheless, let’s be honest with ourselves, Crocs are some of the ugliest shoes ever created. Hideous. Goofy looking. Even so, I don’t wear Crocs because of how they look, I wear them because they are functional and versatile.

Recently while preparing a sermon for a youth convention, I was reading through Romans chapter 1 when I came to that scripture most of us know very well. Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” Ready to move on to the rest of the passage, I felt led to pause and pray. A few minutes later, the Lord impressed on me a word for both Gen Z and Gen Alpha. Here is what I heard the Lord say: “If the same unashamed mentality this generation feels toward certain areas of their life were applied to their presentation of my gospel, these young people could bring about revival and harvest like you’ve never seen before. For they will be able to see my work in a land where the enemy currently has strongholds built.” I receive and believe that word for Gen Z and Gen Alpha.

If your generation were to apply that same unashamed mentality that many of you feel towards your appearance unto the gospel of Jesus Christ, undoubtedly, we would see revival and harvest like never before. Crocs are the example I use here because so many from Gen Z and Gen Alpha have no shame in wearing those ugly rubber shoes with a bunch of holes on top. You wear those shoes for the same reason I do because they are functional and versatile. The gospel can be likened to your Crocs. The gospel is not that pretty, in many ways it is unattractive. To a great number of people, it is ugly because of the mockery others have made of Christianity. One could say the gospel is not so pretty, as it involves a death and a burial. However, the gospel is functional and versatile because it involves a resurrection. It is functional in that it is effective. The plan of salvation as outlined in Acts 2:38 still makes a transformational difference in our lives and eternities. The gospel is also versatile in that anybody and everybody can receive this good news.

The key to entering into your Crocs Era, making the sharing of the gospel the theme for your life, is doing what Paul, the author of Romans, said he did every day. In 1 Corinthians 15:31, he said that, “I die daily…” By dying daily, Paul was saying that he intentionally crucified his flesh on a daily basis to ensure that he kept that unashamed mentality. For that mentality comes when the gift of the Holy Ghost is stirred up following the flesh being crucified. So why does our flesh have to be taken care of daily? Well, it’s because our flesh wants to be fed every single day. Flesh, that if it is not taken care of, will do nothing more than attempt to preserve glory for itself instead of ensuring that Jesus receives all the glory.

If you are ready to enter into your Crocs Era, where you allow God to use you to share the gospel wherever you go, the challenge for you is going to be how you start your days. Perhaps you’ve heard people say “You can have your devotion time at any time of the day, just make sure you have it.” While it is better to go to God any time of the day, than to not be with Him at all; In order to enter into your Crocs Era, you must learn to crucify the flesh every morning before you start feeding the flesh what it desires. That will require changing what you do first when waking up. Before you grab a box of Captain Crunch from the pantry and before you start the morning scroll through Instagram or Facebook, you’ll need to get on your knees to pray. When you start doing that, the gift of the Holy Ghost will be stirred up, and such a stirring will ultimately lead you to share the gospel without worry or fear.