The pastor behind a now-viral picture that shows an elderly man tenderly feeding his wife ice cream told Faithwire on Wednesday that he felt urged by God to snap the inspirational photo.
As Faithwire previously reported, Pastor Brent Kelley, 34, was at a Sonic in Franklin, Tennessee, on Monday when he noticed the scene, took a photo and later posted it to Facebook. The response was overwhelming.
That image has since received 811,000 likes, 326,000 shares and 61,000 comments. Speaking to Faithwire, Kelley shared his motivation for publishing the photo as well as his take on why it has resonated so deeply.
“Honestly, I started to drive away and I heard the Holy Spirit tell me to drive back around to take the photo,” Kelley told Faithwire.
So today, I took the kids to the pool and we stopped for ice cream on the way home. When I got my ice cream and pulled…
Posted by Brent Kelley on Monday, July 24, 2017
So, that’s exactly what he did. Kelley believes that the image touched so many people because it speaks to our “overall need to be loved” — a universal longing of every human heart.
“Humanity wants, desires to be loved,” he said. “The problem is we were never made to be loved by people; we were made to be loved by our Father. This allows us to love each other through God’s unconditional love.”
In the end, Kelley — who previously described the scene as “a beautiful display of love” — said he wanted everyone to see the “unconditional love” that was unfolding right before him.
“You can only love your neighbor as much as you love yourself and I can only love myself as I know the Father’s love,” he told Faithwire. “This is what the world longs to know.”
Read more about the inspiring photo here.