I think most people in history have found the idea of eternal life to be appealing. The alternative is that we die at some point or at least cease to exist, which is unappealing to most people.
The idea of living a long time is appealing as long as we imagine that we're in good health, never get old, and things are going our way. We expect that in God's kingdom when we've received imperishable resurrection bodies, and there's no more sickness, pain, death, sadness, etc., that we'll be pretty happy. But it's hard to imagine that we'd be happy in the long term. I mean really long term because if we're talking about never-ending life, then it will go on for trillions and trillions and trillions and . . . of years.
While many people might find a very long life of health and prosperity to be appealing, the idea of eternal life, no matter how wonderful conditions might be, is frightening. It will become a hell merely becasue of the length of it.
I remember when I was younger I used to answer this objection by imagining that there's no end to God's creativity in keeping us entertained and happy forever. A God who is all knowing and all powerful will never fail to keep life fresh and interesting. But even if there were a theoretical limit to the kinds of things and situations God could create to keep us amused, he could simply use his omnipotence to zap us with contentment, and he could do this continuously throughout eternity. In that case, our joy wouldn't even require external stimuli.
Some people answer this objection by pointing to the timelessness of heaaven. If time doesn't even exist, then there's no way to ever get bored over a long period of time. First of all, I doubt it's true that there's no time in heaven. Second, and more importantly, I believe in a physical resurrection, and that certainly entails a temporal existence.
These days, however, I see our joy as consisting more in experiencing and apprehending God himself than in God zapping us with joy or constantly creating new good experiences for us to have. Imagine something you've seen that was magical and wonderful, like a total eclipse, a scene from _Life of Pie_, a magnificent work of art, a mountain, a lightening storm, the Milkyway Galaxy on a dark night away from the city. Or imagine things you would like to see in real life that have been drempt up in fiction, like a million fairies all simultaneously taking flight in the dark, or whatever. There are many exquisite things that have been seen or imagined that would be a wonder to behold, and that's just visual perception. We're also moved by stories, music, physical touch, love, friendships, and donuts.
Any of these things, no matter how wonderful we can imagine them to be, would probably become boring after trillions and trillions of years. But I don't think God would be. God is not only the most beautiful, wonderful, holy, sublime, and great being that exists, but he's the most glorious being that could exist. I don't think we have the capacity to fully imagine what such a being is like. He exhausts even our capacity to appreciate him.
What I suspect is that God is so layered and so multi-faceted that there is no end to the glory that we might experience and apprehend when we are in his presence. I suspect that God's glory (everything that is true and wonderful about him) is inexhaustible. I don't think we have words to describe him fully or concepts to imagine him fully. We have a tiny glimps of him through what he has revealed to us by way of Scripture, reason, and intuition. I think eternal life will be never-ending joy because of being in the presence of God. It is God himself, the worship of him, and the enjoying him forever that will wipe out any possibility of eternal life becoming tiresome or boring. We will never exhaust the glory of God.
I suspect this may be hard for some people to believe because you're trying to imagine the unimaginable. If you can't even imagine a being so wonderful and glorious that merely being in his presence would be sufficient to make etneral life a never-ending joy, then it's hard to imagine that it's even possible.
I think it's not only possible, but it's the reality we live in. The answer to questions like, "What is the meaning/purpose of life?" can be found in Yahweh - the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jesus. Everything exists for him and because of him, and in him all things hold together. He is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. It's all about him. It makes sense that Paul would say, "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatewver you do, do all things for the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31). That's what it's all about. Even Christians, myself included, get distracted and fail to live up to the lofty goal of allowing our desire for the glory of God to be the motive behind everything we do, but I think ultimately that is where we will find our greatest joy in eternity.
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