---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A life which has never been laid open in…"
description: "\"“A life which has never been laid open in penitence and faith before God has little permanence in eternity.”\" — R.K. Harrison"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf8/r-k-harrison-77106_eternity_a-life-which-has-never-been-laid-open-in_1481953.jpg"
---

#  A life which has never been laid open in penitence and…

![“A life which has never been laid open in penitence and faith before God has little permanence in eternity.” quote by R.K. Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf8/r-k-harrison-77106_eternity_a-life-which-has-never-been-laid-open-in_1481953.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf8/r-k-harrison-77106_eternity_a-life-which-has-never-been-laid-open-in_1481953.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf8/r-k-harrison-77106_eternity_a-life-which-has-never-been-laid-open-in_1481953.jpg)

> ““A life which has never been laid open in penitence and faith before God has little permanence in eternity.””

[R.K. Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-k-harrison/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A life lacking sincere repentance and faith before God is fleeting in the afterlife.

**In simple terms:** Without true repentance, life is temporary.

Key Takeaway

Seek genuine penitence.

Themes

faith repentance eternity

Mood

contemplative serious

Type

theological reflective

When to use this quote

- personal reflection
- religious practice
- ethical decision making

Key Concepts

theology spiritual permanence

Questions to Reflect On

- How can one cultivate authentic repentance?
- What does permanence mean to you?

A Different Perspective

Spiritual depth cannot be measured by external actions alone.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Little Permanence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-permanence-5402689/) [Penitence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/penitence/) [Penitence Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/penitence-faith-5402688/) [Permanence Eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/permanence-eternity-1225769/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/)

## Related quotes

> [A special form of misery had begun to oppress him of late. There was nothing poignant, nothing acute about it; but there was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-special-form-of-misery-had-begun-to-oppress-him-of-late-there-was/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [There are moments when I think it will never end, that it will last indefinitely. It's like the rain. Here the rain, like everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/there-are-moments-when-i-think-it-will-never-end-that-it-will-last/)

[Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/)

> [“He wandered aimlessly. The sun was setting. A special form of misery had begun to oppress him of late. There was nothing poignant, nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/he-wandered-aimlessly-the-sun-was-setting-a-special-form-of-misery/)

[Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/)

> [True penitence condemns to silence. What a man is ready to recall he would be willing to repeat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-h-bradley/true-penitence-condemns-to-silence-what-a-man-is-ready-to-recall-he/)

[F. H. Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-h-bradley/)

> [Prayer in the sense of petition, asking for things, is a small part of it; confession and penitence are its threshold, adoration its sanctuary,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/prayer-in-the-sense-of-petition-asking-for-things-is-a-small-part-of/)

[C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/)

> [“It was a long week of penitence and fasting, during which there were no card games and no music that might lead to lust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/it-was-a-long-week-of-penitence-and-fasting-during-which-there-were/)

[Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/)

> [Virtue and vice are both prophets; the first, of certain good; the second, of pain or else of penitence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-venning/virtue-and-vice-are-both-prophets-the-first-of-certain-good-the/)

[Ralph Venning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-venning/)

> [Prayer is the converse of the soul with God. Therein we manifest or express to Him our reverence, and love for His divine perfection,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-hodge/prayer-is-the-converse-of-the-soul-with-god-therein-we-manifest-or/)

[Charles Hodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-hodge/)

> [It's not my business to try and make God think like me... but to try, in prayer and penitence, to think like God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/it-s-not-my-business-to-try-and-make-god-think-like-me-but-to-try-in/)

[Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/)

> [The meaning of atonement is not to be found in our penitence evoked by the sight of Calvary, but rather in what God did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/the-meaning-of-atonement-is-not-to-be-found-in-our-penitence-evoked/)

[John Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/)

> [Someone who is elated with wine speaks the truth on all subjects, even without meaning to. In the same way, anyone who is inebriated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-climacus/someone-who-is-elated-with-wine-speaks-the-truth-on-all-subjects-even/)

[John Climacus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-climacus/)

> [Hail, high Excess especially in wine, To thee in worship do I bend the knee Who preach abstemiousness unto me My skull thy pulpit,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/hail-high-excess-especially-in-wine-to-thee-in-worship-do-i-bend-the/)

[Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/)

> [“Some people in orthodox churches in Africa take poverty as a path that leads to heaven, making christianity look unattractive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/some-people-in-orthodox-churches-in-africa-take-poverty-as-a-path/)

[Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/)

> [“Penitence is nothing but a form of self-indulgence. Some things you cannot wash from your hands, and there’s no use in trying.” He”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-keyes/penitence-is-nothing-but-a-form-of-self-indulgence-some-things-you/)

[Greg Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-keyes/)

> [There must be room for penitence to mend Life's broken chance; else noise of wars would unmake heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-cary/there-must-be-room-for-penitence-to-mend-life-s-broken-chance-else/)

[Alice Cary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-cary/)

## More by R.K. Harrison

> [“God demands a conversion of the mind and heart as the basis of peace and security (cf. Is 26:3), not the superstitious veneration of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-k-harrison/god-demands-a-conversion-of-the-mind-and-heart-as-the-basis-of-peace/)

[R.K. Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-k-harrison/)

> [“... no person can be his own saviour ... An individual must come before God in penitence, confess his sin and obtain pardon from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-k-harrison/no-person-can-be-his-own-saviour-an-individual-must-come-before-god/)

[R.K. Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-k-harrison/)

[Explore all 3 R.K. Harrison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-k-harrison/)

## More Eternity quotes

> [“I believe in forever, and that’s what you and I are. We define eternity. This may sound cheesy, but you make me go there.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-mchugh/i-believe-in-forever-and-that-s-what-you-and-i-are-we-define-eternity/)

[Gail McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-mchugh/)

> [“Please not yet. Those are the three eternal words. Please not yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/please-not-yet-those-are-the-three-eternal-words-please-not-yet/)

[John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/)

> [Peace is the first thing the angels sang. Peace is the mark of the children of God. Peace is the nurse of love. Peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-i/peace-is-the-first-thing-the-angels-sang-peace-is-the-mark-of-the/)

[Pope Leo I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-i/)

> [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/)

[Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/)

> [If I have a system it is limited to a recognition of what Kierkegaard called 'the infinite qualitative distinction' between time and eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-barth/if-i-have-a-system-it-is-limited-to-a-recognition-of-what-kierkegaard/)

[Karl Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-barth/)

> [Only alone can you go into eternity. Only alone can you feel the transcendental light. It is not a shared experience because if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/only-alone-can-you-go-into-eternity-only-alone-can-you-feel-the/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [I think we all have a core that's ecstatic, that knows and that looks up in wonder. We all know that there are marvelous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-barks/i-think-we-all-have-a-core-that-s-ecstatic-that-knows-and-that-looks/)

[Coleman Barks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-barks/)

> [One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/one-of-our-great-allies-at-present-is-the-church-itself-do-not/)

[C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/)

> [Heaven? Floating about with everyone you ever knew for eternity? Me family does me 'ed in after one day at xmas, I'd rather be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/heaven-floating-about-with-everyone-you-ever-knew-for-eternity-me/)

[Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/)

> [What does the future, that half of time, matter to the man who is infatuated with eternity?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/what-does-the-future-that-half-of-time-matter-to-the-man-who-is/)

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

> [You and I are both life. There's just the experience of every moment. We like to call them moments. There isn't really such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-and-i-are-both-life-there-s-just-the-experience-of-every-moment/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [You've decided to love me for eternity, I'm still deciding who I want to be today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/you-ve-decided-to-love-me-for-eternity-i-m-still-deciding-who-i-want/)

[Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/)

> [You may have some friends that come and go, but having a friend like God will last forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyssa-tillmon/you-may-have-some-friends-that-come-and-go-but-having-a-friend-like/)

[Alyssa Tillmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyssa-tillmon/)

> [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

[Browse all 3,482 Eternity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“A life which has never been laid open in penitence and faith before God has little permanence in eternity.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "R.K. Harrison"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-k-harrison/a-life-which-has-never-been-laid-open-in-penitence-and-faith-before/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Eternity"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-k-harrison/a-life-which-has-never-been-laid-open-in-penitence-and-faith-before/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf8/r-k-harrison-77106_eternity_a-life-which-has-never-been-laid-open-in_1481953.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf8/r-k-harrison-77106_eternity_a-life-which-has-never-been-laid-open-in_1481953.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf8/r-k-harrison-77106_eternity_a-life-which-has-never-been-laid-open-in_1481953.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“A life which has never been laid open in penitence and faith before God has little permanence in eternity.” — R.K. Harrison",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "R.K. Harrison",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-k-harrison/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“A life which has never been...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-k-harrison/a-life-which-has-never-been-laid-open-in-penitence-and-faith-before/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-k-harrison/a-life-which-has-never-been-laid-open-in-penitence-and-faith-before/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
