The merits transferred by Amida Buddha are not ours to use for personal goals

Question by a Dharma friend: If Amida transfers His karmic merits to us, why can we not dedicate them to others?
 
My answer: The transference of merits from Amida Buddha does NOT mean these merits become our property. They still remain Amida’s merits but working from inside us. And these merits have only one goal - to lead us to His Pure Land. It is like being carried to a wonderful place by your best friend in his car. The car is not yours and will never become yours because you are carried in it by your friend. It’s the same with Amida’s transference of merit. Just like you cannot do what you want with the car of your friend who leads you to destination, you cannot do what you want with Amida’s merits.