My Doppelganger Died Last Week

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Doppelganger: German translation “double-goer”, a non-biologically related look-alike or double of a living person.

A few weeks ago, as I walked into my local Starbucks to get my usual tall Pike, no room and settle down for some writing, the barista looked at me and her jaw dropped.

“You have a doppelganger!” she exclaimed.

“What’s a doppelganger?” I asked.

“A doppelganger is someone who looks just like someone else, and I have a friend who looks exactly like you.”

She pulled out her wallet and showed me a picture of an overweight older guy with receding gray hair standing on a riverbank fishing. Sure enough, the poor guy looked just like me. Except I hate fishing.

It was a weird feeling, realizing someone else was walking around out there with my body on him.

I didn’t think much of it until yesterday when I walked into that Starbucks again and saw the same barista.

“So how’s my doppelganger doing?” I asked.

She got a sad look on her face. “Oh, he died last week.”

I was shocked. “No kidding?”

“Yea, he died of a heart attack in his sleep. He lived alone and no one found him for days!”

I recoiled at the thought. “Ugh! That’s terrible! I’m so sorry.”

She went on to say that he had been in bad health. He was a bar tender and smoked heavily. She had known him for forty years. They worked together starting several restaurants and taverns in Southern California.

As I walked the few blocks back home from Starbucks, I mulled over the thought that here was someone who looked just like me, and yet we were so utterly different.

And then it hit me: if I hadn’t trusted Christ as my savior when I was a child those many decades ago, I would still look pretty much the same as I do today, but my entire life, and even my self, would be so radically different.

Jesus Christ has impacted every aspect of my life. Without him, I would not have the the wife I have or the children I have. I would not have the education I have. I would not have had the privilege of preaching the Word of God for years. I would not be living where I am. I would not be ministering to people all over the world. Everything would be different.

And on a deeper level, I would not have the hope I have. I would not have the joy I have. I would not have the relationships I have. I would not have the love I have all around me. The way I talk would be different. The way I think would be different. My goals would be different. My world view would be different. I would simply not be the man I am. I would look like the same person I am today, but I would not be the same person I am today.

And that me without Christ is a doppelganger I’m glad you’ve never met.

“Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

This post first appeared in newcommandment.org.

Since 2003 New Commandment Men’s Ministries has helped hundreds of churches throughout North American and around the world recruit teams of men who permanently adopt their widowed and single parents in their congregations for the purpose of donating two hours of service to them one Saturday morning each month. We accomplish this with a free training site called New Commandment Men’s Ministry

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