It originated centuries ago. When a man would go to war, his family would say to him as he left, “Come home with your shield or on it!”
What they were saying was, return home a hero and not a coward. They were saying that it is better to die in war then to return home a coward. In the midst of battle if a man were to retreat and run away he would have to drop his shield as it was to heavy and cumbersome to make a hasty retreat. Returning home without it meant you were a coward, it meant that in the midst of the battle you ran away. However, if he returned with his shield it meant that he was victorious. And if he fell in battle, valiantly fighting, he would be carried home on his shield in honor of his courage.
Many a man went to war knowing that he would not return home. Saying goodbye to his family for the last time knowing he would never see them again. Yet it was better to die in battle fighting for something that was greater then himself, then to live a life of a slave and a coward.
When I hear these words I think of life, its victories and its challenges. When I find myself in the midst of a battle I remind myself that there is no retreat, there is no surrender and that I would rather die for something greater than myself then to live a life of a coward, a slave to fear. I would rather give my life for glory of God and attempt something great than walk this earth in mediocrity.
