Come back with your shield...

So the other day Laura and I went to see the film 300. It's an adaptation of the graphic novel with the same name by Frank Miller. The novel (and film) is a depiction of the historical battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC through the eyes of the Spartan king Leonidas I. The basic gist is that Leonidas with his personal fighting force of 300 Spartans and a number of other Greek allies move north and hold off a pass in the mountains in the north of Greece against a vastly numerically superior Persian army. *Spoiler ahead* On the last day Leonidas sends the allies home and stays to guard the pass with his 300 and the Thespians (the only allies he didn't send home) and inflicts heavy casualties on the Persians until the Greeks are killed to a man. What resonated with me about this film is the Spartan mantra. Before the warriors would leave for war, the women would always tell them, "Come back with your shields, or on them." To the Spartans there was no room for defeat. It struck me that this is what our attitudes as Christians should be. We fight a merciless enemy, and yes, in Christ we have the victory. However, for myself at least, I know my battle posture is a far cry from that Spartan attitude. Yes, there is grace for when we are defeated. But how often does that become an excuse to not fight hard, so as to die if necessary for Christ? How often have I played a weakling and gave in instead of fighting, even if it seems that I am outnumbered?