Contributed by Rosana Miller, CARP Bay Area
Our annual summer retreat went online this summer! On June 4th to 6th, 18 people attended our retreat, titled, “Discover God’s Heart.” We delved into CARP’s perspective on who God is, what His role may be, and why He should matter to us.
We explored what it means to be alive: to have relationships where we can genuinely love and be loved freely. CARP mentor and alumnus Kazuya Morita explained that the center of this ideal is a loving God. He did not create the universe on a whim; He meticulously built the universe from scratch, so there surely must be a good purpose behind our existence.
However, the world we see today is not the ideal we want. Mr. Morita explained that the root of suffering in the world is self-centered love. We all want freedom, but, without principles, the freedom to do what we want for our own lives can imprison us instead. True love should be giving, selfless, and not at the expense of others.
It looks almost impossible to believe in making peace out of a chaotic world, but being aware of the root of our problems is the first step of undoing humanity’s past mistakes. Another CARP mentor, Markus von Euw, took a biblical approach on how we can achieve a world where we can love freely. The Christian idea of the need of a Messiah is not foreign to other faiths and cultures. No matter what our beliefs are, we all need some kind of example on how we can be a fully matured person in order to create a good family and a peaceful world.
In CARP, we call God our Heavenly Parent, and Mr. von Euw explained that we need not just a Heavenly Parent, but actual, physical true parents. They would need to know God's heart for us so that they can teach us that God is a God of love. In Christian theology, Jesus was the Messiah with the task of saving humanity. In layman’s terms, he was meant to be a true parent of all people.
Alongside all the presentations and animated discussions, we had some meaningful activities. We had a testimony night, game nights, and an evening where brothers and sisters had time to bond in groups. While we did enjoy ourselves with the games we played and the stories we told, we also opened ourselves to share words of gratitude, of reflection, and determination.
Every part of this retreat was meant to reveal the heart of God, the Heavenly Parent who loves all people. No matter where we may be, we as CARP aim to give a vision of hope for a world in which we all innately want. Making peace with God and learning that He wants a relationship with us is the starting point. Everybody desires to have a life worth living, so what does it mean to be alive?
Check out more from CARP Bay Area on their Facebook page. Share your story to jennifer@carplife.org.