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The skeptic tends to consign faith to the weak of mind and heart. But faith is a remarkable quality that distinguishes humans from all other sentient beings.
And you thought the opposable thumb was the margin of excellence.
Faith, according to scripture (Hebrews 11:1, 6), has two components: one oriented to the present reality; one oriented toward the future. Of the present, faith assures us of the reality of things that others cannot see--or, in some cases, what others may choose not to see. And, of the future, faith gives us confidence that what we now hope for will actually come to fruition.
Faith in God then not only believes in him (present reality), but believes him (future reality). Faith in God, of course, must be based upon the informed testimony of scripture rather than our own preferences and assumptions; otherwise, our faith cannot transcend our mere wishful thinking, and our God simply becomes a better behaved version of ourselves.
Now, faith and creativity share a common mental muscle.
For the ability to "imaginate," like faith, requires the knowledge and capacity to see what can only be imagined--what cannot be seen (present reality)--and then to create it--to give it substance (future reality)--as it were, from nothing.
Like faith, creativity is a quality by which humans--unique among all creation--reflect the nature of God. I love my dog, but, bless her heart, I've never found her with my pencils and sketch pad. I've never come upon her reviewing a catalog of classes from a community college. I've never witnessed her with a wistful look wondering how life might have been different had she only become an architect.
And so, regardless of the dismissive spirit of the skeptic, people fortunate enough to be of both the cloth and the canvas, of both the Book and the empty page, have the opportunity to unite and incarnate their faith and creativity. By contrast, the work of many artists--void of faith--can easily devolve into expressions of cynicism and despair; and, the faith of many believers--void of creativity--can become merely about rule and ritual.
In support of the artist within you, then, mightn't you grow your faith in the Creator as a means to develop your creativity? And to the faith within you, mightn't you develop your creativity as a means to grow your faith in the Creator?
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