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 bartender 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 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.
Published: February 12, 2020.
Updated: September 1, 2026
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