By: Elizabeth Radford
During my time with the Center for Global Justice, I have seen many different forms that human rights work can take. This summer, I have the opportunity to serve with the Christian Law Association (CLA) in Mason, Ohio. The CLA assists churches and ministries with legal needs as well as Christians who are in need of legal assistance to exercise their religious liberties. The CLA helps churches, ministries, and Christians make informed legal decisions when exercising their faith by providing legal resources and legal advice.
I have had the opportunity to work on a variety of projects while with the CLA. I began by checking that the law was up to date in a couple of the legal resources sent out to ministries. I then began working on a research project for a possibly trending legal issue facing Christians. Then, I had the opportunity to dive in and draft some discovery documents for a current CLA case.
The Lord is teaching me that our representation of Christ is important. In a time of controversial social issues, we have a responsibility to be ambassadors of Christ (II Corinthians 5:20). We are to love others (I John 4:11) while not conforming to this world (Romans 12:2). Everything that we say and that we do reflects on Christ. Our speech should be seasoned with grace (Colossians 4:6) We should keep that in mind as we go about our days. Christians should stand for the faith in a loving manner while never compromising.
The CLA helps Christians to understand what protections are in place to help them stand for the faith. Many times, Christians have an opportunity to witness and share the Gospel with others. The CLA answers questions about faith in the workplace as well as in public forums. It helps Christians understand exceptions that might apply. This advice helps Christians to exercise one of their most valuable human rights – religious liberty.
During my internship, I hope to be an asset to the CLA in the important work that they do every day.
This post was written by a Center for Global Justice Student Staff member/Intern. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.