Someone asked me, why does art matter in terms of spiritual growth? Here was part of my answer:

From a Christ centered spirituality, i would say….
Symbols are embedded in things around us, and the symbolic/creative is part of who we are as humans!
God made it that way. They are one dimension of His communication with us—both in nature and others. We are symbolic creatures, and that is part of what is being conformed to His Image. And God is constantly communicating in and through the symbolic dimension!
To even say we are “images” of God, is a symbolic statement.
So God is symbolic, and we are symbolizers also. To baptize our imaginations with the rest of us, is part of what is maturing into the fullness of The Head.
Our imaginations are included in sanctification!
This means we will see things more and more as He does. Our perceptions will become more spiritual. Growing in spiritual perception is a very basic part of our spirituality, for it allows us even to see one another more through His Eyes!
So our creative dimension is basic to ethics and interpretation! The art part of us, is also being renewed daily, and brought into better alignment with the creativity of Our Creator. You see that many have trouble interpreting the times or even the news, some of the problem is a poverty of imagination, or an unsanctified or being renewed imagination! It’s been neglected in discipleship, or spiritual formation for way too long, but is an essential part which should be growing spiritually!
To become symbolically literate is part of discipleship. If we really want to be “baptized” and baptize others into all three Names—The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. We must let our seer and symbolic dimensions into the story!
Jesus told Nathaneal when they first met—“I saw you beneath that tree friend”. Jesus could see. And in many other cases revealed that He could SEE into the hearts of men, and judge their motives.
This is another part of spiritual perception. We call discernment.
It is seeing in order to interpret rightly. Again, art or our creative dimension of who we are, is part of interpreting rightly.
Many people see art as superfluous or a leisurely activity. I see it as a fundamental part of being human, and a part which is desperately needed to be being renewed daily in Christ. Let Christ into your imagination, and you will be blown away.
Jesus, as a Jew, used concrete symbols around Him mostly, but He was always getting upset with his students that they were thinking too literally! Do you really think i’m talking about fish fellows? He was guiding them to a more whole or spiritual perception of things. We need to follow His lead. As His Father is a symbolizer and communicates through the creative strata of Reality!