The physical world is like a painted picture or a clay action movie, however ultimately more complex. And we now have an even better analogy: pixels and computer imagery. Which is uncanningly similar to this world, being made up of mere light and energy--the actual scientific make up of matter--as if "Lights, camera, action!" were its own "Let there be light!"
But the question, I believe, is why--why this created imagery that comes across like a media of matter?
Well, what's the purpose of any media? It's to convey a narrative, in this case visible. What then is the message? Well, don't we know the answer? Sure we do. Initially, it would seem that God simply wanted to create, that He wanted to create a world like we might want to plant a garden, and He did. But it would be wrong to think that He did and then things went all wrong. I think it is fair to say that God being "perfect" doesn't leave room for such a failed attempt at creation. No, but that is just the beginning, the narrative goes on. It goes on to paint that picture of a people and world fallen and in need of saving, and He explains.
But lets not misunderstand, what was written, was not written here, not within the creation, but from beyond the created world about the created world. Which means not amidst time, but within the fabric of eternity that we are challenged to even imagine. Thus, there is the timeless reality of God, and a story line within a narrative of fantastically created media, wherein we all live out the story being revealed. History is His story. But again, the setting and reality is His, and timeless. Just as there is no actual timeline in a book that is written. But some will claim that the story "says" things about time that agree with the unfolding of the story in timeline form, so obviously the truth of time is that it is the truth of God and law. But you sitting in your favorite chair reading a story proves nothing of a real timeline according to what is written in the pages. No, the law and the truth, are not found in the pages of the book, but in Him who wrote it. In this case, the Author is "the same yesterday, today, and forever"--timeless.
So, as knowledge has been increased where even science tells us that time is an illusion, we have a choice of understanding the why of our Creator from His perspective...or we can retreat into the pixels, check our watches, and remain within the illusion as those who sleep.
But we know the end.