I have never heard of the name Nezahualcoyotl (1402–1472) until today (from Our Daily Bread). How do one pronounce his name? Though there is a variation, his name means “Hungry Coyote,” and it suits him since his writings show a spiritual hunger.
Netzahualcoyótl
As a poet and ruler in Mexico before the arrival of the Europeans, he wrote, “Truly the gods, which I worship, are idols of stone that do not speak nor feel. . . . Some very powerful, hidden and unknown god is the creator of the entire universe. He is the only one that can console me in my affliction and help me in such anguish as my heart feels; I want him to be my helper and protection.”
If what he wrote was put in the context of 21st century United States, it may sounded like, “Truly the gods (prosperity, pleasure, power, and popularity), which we worship, are idols that do not give true contentment in present life or provide an eternal life after death… There is only one true God, Yahweh, who created all things through Jesus Christ. He is the only Savior who can give us life and have it abundantly. I wish to know Him.”
I don’t know if Nezahualcoyotl came to know the true Giver of life during his reign but I do wish all of us would come to know this true God who is the giver of life.
The writers of Psalm 42 cried out, “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God” (v. 2). It is my prayer that we would thirst for God, the one true living God.
Have a blessed week!