Good or Bad?

Monday morning dawned, and although the sun was shining, it was another chilly day with a cold wind, so we still needed our scarves and fleeces outside. Mr. HCB needed to go to a garden centre, so it was another excuse reason to go out together, and of course, there is always the possibility that we might stop for a quick coffee!!

I was looking for something to blip and came across this beautiful flower - a Pulsatilla or more commonly known as Pasque flower. It normally blooms in early Spring, and is associated with Easter, Pasque referring to Passover.

It is certainly a beautiful flower, but on reading up about it, I found that it is highly toxic and produces cardiogenic toxins which slow the heart in humans. Excess use can lead to diarrhoea, vomiting and convulsions, hypotension and coma and it should not be taken during pregnancy. Whoever would have thought such a beautiful flower could do so much damage?

On the plus side, extracts of Pulsatilla have been used to treat reproductive problems and as a sedative for treating coughs.

So - this plant can be used for good or bad - and I was wondering about my life - do I bring good or bad - and do I make a difference in the lives of those around me. I hope I make a difference, and try to be kind and loving, but sometimes the quick retort that is sarcastic or judgemental comes out and sometimes the way I act is not honouring to God. This not what God wants of me and I need to keep this in check.

The New Living Translation puts it like this:

Jesus said "Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.
Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets."
Matthew 7: 1-2, 7-8, 12