the creation of earth

And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water. So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. Genesis 1:6-7

When looking into the account of creation, it is easy to get caught up in the details of trying to explain how the Bible really does not contradict the scientific theories of how the world, the universe, and everything came to be. One theory is called the Big Bang Theory, which many Christians make certain to hotly refute. The theory that everything came from nothing at some random point back in time without the help of any outside force not only sounds ridiculous, it attempts to completely negate both the necessity and existence of God. It is possible, however, that in our zeal to refute this particular theory, we miss an incredible opportunity to explain how God and science are not a contradiction, but rather different vantage points of the same story.
According to the Biblical account of creation, the earth was initially formless, or some undefinable mass (Gen 1:2), and was surrounded by darkness. Then God created light, and after that separated the "water from water" with what is described as an "expanse." This word expanse is actually linked to the word in Genesis 1:1 for heavens.
It really is incredible how this account correlates with the scientific view of how the world, and the universe, began. After the unexplainable beginning of matter, the universe was first a hot and dense conglomeration of particles that quickly expanded outward into the distance (an indefinable mass). Over time, regions of matter gravitationally attracted and formed things like gas clouds, stars (the creation of light) and galaxies, among other things. The gaseous cloud that eventually formed the Earth was (like the rest of the universe) rotating. This caused the heavier particles to separate toward the center of the rotating cloud-sphere, leaving a thinner gas between those inner particles and those still shifting throughout the rest of the universe. In essence, the formation of the atmosphere separated the liquid-like mass of the Earth from that of the rest of the universe (separating water from water).

Truly, though, all of that is of little importance. Certainly, it can be a powerful way of showing God's necessary role in creation. It also works to further emphasize how God is not only outside of time, but that He created time, and thus has complete control over time -- all that we know of was created in 6 days. Surely there are arguments debating whether the term day truly refers to the set time of 24 hours or more along the lines of millions of years, but those arguments are of no importance in this instance. The Bible is not meant to teach us how the world was created, because that is something we could never hope to comprehend. There are other, far more important things these verses can tell us. (I am by no means saying that evangelism is unimportant. I am stating that the primary purpose of the Bible is more in line with the following statement.) The Bible is not just an historical account -- the Bible shows us valuable information about the qualities of God.

So, what do these two verses share about who God is?

For me, the combination of the phrases "Let there be," "So God made" and "And it was so" have an important message. There is no rash or uncontemplated action through God's process of creation -- He decides what He wants, and He makes it happen. God does not act impulsively, but decidedly. Additionally, the process of creation, rather than simply immediately causing all of creation to be as He envisions it in its finality, shows God's patience and care for all of His creation.

This last thought is something I would like for you to dwell on. In the midst of the problems of this broken world, it is easy to forget the love and care that God gives. It is also easy to forget that God does not work according to our personal time-line -- and then get frustrated when we don't see Him acting when we expected. We need to remember God's ultimate wisdom in deciding when and how to act, and trust that He will always choose that which is for our very best good.