O Font of Every Blessing

Are some typefaces more believable than others?

In 2013, acclaimed filmmaker and author Errol Morris ran an experiment in the New York Times.  He asked 45,000 readers to take an online test, supposedly to measure whether or not they were optimists or pessimists.  In reality, Morris was trying to find out if the typeface of a printed statement had any bearing on a reader's willingness to agree with that statement.

Six fonts were used in the experiment – three serif and three sans serif: Baskerville, Computer Modern, Georgia, Helvetica, Comic Sans and Trebuchet.  The results of Morris's experiment were published online in a two-part essay called Hear, All Ye People; Hearken, O Earth!  The results of the research indicate that the use of the Baskerville font, a 250-year-old serif font originally designed by John Baskerville, was statistically more likely to influence the minds of readers than the other five fonts. *

God’s greatest blessings have been communicated through a unique Font.  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.  We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1, 14 NIV).  The Word that became flesh and made His dwelling among us is Jesus, the Son of God.  Jesus was God-incarnate, God-in-the-flesh. 

John informs us that the Word became flesh to reveal the GLORY of God.  A big part of the glory of God is His glorious LOVE for you and me.

“But God demonstrates [or “communicates”] His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8

Our sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2) and puts us on the path of destruction (Matthew 7:13-14).

But God loves us so much that He gave His One and Only Son to die on the cross for our sins (John 3:16).  Through Jesus, we can have the forgiveness of sins and receive the gift of eternal life (Ephesians 1:7; Romans 6:23).

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” – Ephesians 1:3

In order to receive these “great blessings,” we must listen to the Word, trust Him, and obey Him.

The Word of God says that God will save those who place their faith and trust in Him (Acts 16:30-31), turn from sin in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).  According to the Word, God will continue to cleanse from sin those who continue to walk in the light of His Word (1 John 1:7).

In the words of Robert Robinson’s beloved hymn, GOD is the Fount of every blessing.  The greatest blessings have been communicated through the gift of His Son Jesus.  These statements are true in any font used to communicate them!

Won’t YOU trust what the Word says and obey Him today?                                       – David A. Sargent

* Information gleaned from “Errol Morris: How Typography Shapes Our Perception Of Truth” by John Brownlee in www.fastcodesign.com