Ramu and Sunil's Charcha - Why, God, COVID-19? - Discussion Guide

Jul 17, 2026

Ramu and Sunil’s Charcha uses a conversational story to help new readers process fear and grief during COVID-19. Sunil struggles with questions about suffering—whether it is caused by sin, whether God is absent, whether humans are responsible, and whether events signal the end times. Through the example of Job and the Bible teaching in Luke 13:1-9, the discussion reframes suffering and encourages repentance, compassion, and thoughtful group conversations without preaching.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

FormatPDF

Pages24

Reading Time1 h 0 min

Instructions for teachers

Preparation and story flow

Discussion guidance

The narrative: Sunil and Ramu

Is suffering caused by sin?

Should we care for others?

Is it man-made?

Is it a sign of end times?

Biblical teaching

Job and why suffering happens

Luke 13:1-9

Ramu and Sunil's Charcha (Why, God, COVID-19?) Author: Herald Rajan, selected illustration by Ashika Herald Gracelyn English Ramu and Sunil's Charcha (Why, God, COVID-19?) written by Herald Rajan Selcted illustration by Ashika Herald Gracelyn English Copyright © 2020, Herald Rajan [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) You may not use this work for commercial purposes. You may adapt and add to this work, but you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one. You must keep the copyright and credits for authors, illustrators, etc. Please contact me for any clarifcation [herold_rajan@sall.com](herold_rajan@sall.com) Wrtten by Herald Rajan Most of the illustrations in this booklet were done by Ashika Herold Gracelyn Few Images were taken from [http://www.freebibleimages.org/](http://www.freebibleimages.org/ those)[ those](http://www.freebibleimages.org/ those) images are free for you to use in teaching. Conditions on the reuse of the images are defined in the Terms of Download in the site mentioned here. Instructions for teachers Preparation: 1 hour Please remember to read aloud and practice the story before you read to your group . Please read the bible portions mentioned in the book and prayerfully prepare to teach yor group . Story Flow This story has the below subsections: a) The problem / Connecting with audience-we are in tough times with COVID b) The first question: is this because of sin? c) The second question: should we care for others? d) The third question: is this man-made? e) The fourth question: is this a sign of end times? These are big questions for believers to understand, and not easy to teach into a single book meant for new readers . So it might be more effective if you teach it to maybe two or three questions? i.e Day 1: pages 1-6 for 30 minutes, Day 2: pages 7-9 for 30 minutes . Day 3: pages 10-16 for 30 minutes . Please give time for participants to discuss and express their views . Please Don't preach . Sunil is very depressed and deeply thinking about Coronavirus . One day he is meeting his friend Ramu . Ramu: Hello Sunil, How are you, Are you okay ,,, you are looking sad today . Sunil: Hello Ramu, what is happending in this world? Everywhere Coronavirus . We can’t travel anywhere, Lots of people dying in India and all over the world . I am afraid that this Coronavirus may come to our village too . It might infect me and my family. What if my family members die because of this? Why is this happening? Where is God in this situation? Did God cause this? Is it God's punishment? Ramu: Let me answer your questions, with the story of Job, Job was the wealthiest, most blessed man, maybe in the whole world . He loves God very much and was faithful to follow His commands. At some point, Satan actually approaches God himself and basically asks God to put Job to the test . God was speaking well of Job and how faithful Job was to him . Satan boasted that the only reason Job was faithful to God was because God had given him everything he could ever want: family, wealth, land etc. So God actually allows Satan to take all those things away from Job in order to see if Job would still be faithful to God. So Job loses everything including his family and even becomes infected with leprosy; he is in terrible agony both physically and emotionally . Despite all this Job remains faithful to God and Bible says in all his difficulties he didint sin . (Job 1:13-22) From the story of Job, Sunil, what do we learn is the reason for his suffering? Is it because of Job’s Sin? No, Ramu, it was not the result of Job’s sin . It was because of Satan that God allowed Job to go through that for a reason . Ramu: “That’s a good answer”. Ramu: Let us open our Bible to Luke 13:1-9 1About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they we

FAQs

Why does Sunil think COVID-19 is happening, and what questions does he ask Ramu?

Sunil fears the virus may reach his village and his family. He asks whether God caused it, whether it is punishment for sin, and where God is in the situation.

How does Ramu use the story of Job to explain suffering?

Ramu compares Sunil’s questions to Job’s suffering. He explains that Job’s trials were not because of Job’s sin, but allowed for a reason, with Satan challenging faith.

What message does Jesus give in Luke 13:1-9 regarding people who died?

Jesus responds that the dead were not worse sinners than others. He teaches that people should repent and turn to God, reinforced through the fig tree story about giving one more chance.

Jul 17, 2026

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