The Life of Our Lord is the story of the four Gospels of the New Testament. Dickens believed strongly in the New Testament and thought it was the greatest of all books; the Life of Our Lord is a condensation of the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John for his children. It hews close to the structure and prose of the Gospels, often using the same phraseology. What will interest mature readers are those parts of the Gospels that Dickens chose to emphasize and those he downplayed. Dickens focused on Jesus' moral message, his focus on mutual understanding, and love for the brother and care for the sick, poor and hated.