When the Michelin brothers started making car tyres, they weren’t thinking about fancy restaurants but how to feed themselves. To do that they needed to sell as many tyres as possible either on new vehicles or as replacements. So it was that they hit upon the idea of a free guidebook including recommendations about where to eat. The more people drove the sooner they would need new tyres. The star system that we are now so familiar with tells us that a two-star rating means a restaurant is ‘worth a detour’ and a three-star ‘worth a special journey’.
The problem these days is that Michelin starred restaurants are so expensive most of us will never get to dine at them. But there is a food even more delicious that is free to all and which genuinely satisfies our greatest need. In the Old Testament God issues this invitation, ‘Listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare’. King David follows up in Psalm 63 with this declaration, ‘Your love is better than life, my soul will be satisfied with the richest of foods’. So, while a Michelin starred meal would, I’m sure, be delicious, I’m happy to settle for the feast God offers.
