Cling Only to Him

Jonathan Watson gave a few samples of letters written by Alexis baron von Roenne in the March, 2011 edition of The Banner of Truth magazine (pp. 21-27). Alexis baron bon Roenne was born in Prussia in 1902 [03?] and was a career officer in the German army. He opposed Nazism and was later implicated in an assassination attempt of Hitler, of which he was not guilty, yet he was executed. He had strong Christian convictions and died with great faith in Christ on October 12, 1944. This letter was written to his wife on the day of his death.

My dearest beloved:

In a moment now I shall be going home to our Lord in complete calm and in the certainty of salvation. My thoughts are with you, with all of you, with the very greatest love and gratitude.

As my last wish, I entreat you only to cling to Him and to have full confidence in Him; He loves you.

Any decision you may take for all of you, after prayer, has my complete sanction and my blessing. If only you knew with what inconceivable loyalty He is standing by my side at this moment, you would be armoured, and calm, for all your difficult life. He will give you strength for everything.

I bless both of our beloved children, and include them in my last ardent prayer. May the Lord let His countenance shine upon them and lead them home.

Heartfelt greetings and thanks to my beloved Mama, to your parents and my brothers and sisters. May they, safeguarded by Him, survive even difficult times in our ardently beloved fatherland.

To you, my very dearest of all, belong my ardent love and thanks to the last moment and until our blessed reunion.

God keep you.

Dying We Live: The Final Messages and Records of Some Germans Who Defied Hitler, edited by Helmut Gollwitzer, Kathe Kuhn, Reinhold Schneider, translated by R. C. Kuhn, Harvill Press, London, 1956.