“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it” (Malachi 3:10).
Those of you who have canned fresh fruits or vegetables are very familiar with names like Ball, Mason, and Kerr. Those names were probably on the jars you used for canning. I grew up washing by hand many of those jars in the summer when my mom canned the fresh foods from her garden. It was my job to wash the jars because I had no problem fitting my hand and the dish cloth into those jars for a good scrubbing. I used to think that one day my hand would be too big to fit, but that never happened during my years growing up at home.
After I married, we also had gardens and I learned to can the excess vegetables and also to make pickles and tomato sauce. We preferred the homegrown vegetables instead of the store bought variety. I was blessed to have a dishwasher to clean those jars most summers.
I recently discovered some interesting facts about canning jars. In 1858, John L. Mason patented the Mason jar. The Ball Corporation started manufacturing glass jars for home canning in 1884. Alexander H. Kerr and the Kerr Glass Manufacturing Corporation started a business for home canning supplies in 1903. It was also Mr. Kerr who invented and patented the two-piece disposable metal canning lid in 1915.
I came across a story about Alexander Kerr while reading The One Year Book of Amazing Stories by Robert Petterson. Mr. Kerr had mortgaged his home and borrowed heavily to start his new business, the Hermetic Closure Company of Chicago. Those first years were rough years for Mr. Kerr. But, the interesting part of his story is that he had become a Christian under the ministry of D. L. Moody, and was committed to tithe even when he had very little.
This commitment was tested a few years later. His jars were being produced in San Francisco in 1906, when the city was hit by a massive earthquake. Eighty percent of the city was destroyed by the resulting fires. Upon hearing the news, his friends told him he was a ruined man! Mr. Kerr’s response was, “I don’t believe it. I know God can’t go back on his promises!”
It took several days for the Kerr Family to get word about the status of their factory. That second message was welcomed, for sure. “Factory miraculously saved.” When Mr. Kerr reached the coast and got to the site of the factory, he saw the amazing miracle of God. His factory was made of wood and contained huge tanks where the glass was melted at hot temperatures, fueled by oil. Yet, the raging fire had only scorched the surrounding fences and jumped over his building to continue burning whole blocks around it! Not even one of the thousands of jars was cracked by the earthquake or the fire!
Alexander Kerr later spoke in churches and reminded Christians of God’s promise to bless those who tithe. I don’t own any factories or even a small business, but my husband and I, from the beginning of our marriage, tested God by tithing and He has never failed to bless. There is no way anyone can outgive God!
“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Luke 6:38).